The Scottish rivals reconvene at Murrayfield tonight after Edinburgh's stirring win last week. In a game that sees the welcome return of spectators, can Glasgow strike back?
Edinburgh v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from anywhere
Results last weekend have taken the sting out of this Scottish derby rematch at Murrayfield. Edinburgh’s 30-15 fightback victory, coupled with Munster’s defeat to Leinster, means Richard Cockerill’s men have booked a home Guinness Pro14 semi-final against Ulster a week tomorrow. That’s because Munster can only match Edinburgh’s points tally in Conference B but in that eventuality would lose out on matches won.
Edinburgh also claimed possession of the 1872 Cup for the third successive season. So their priority tonight – reflected in a much-changed line-up – is to avoid injuries and so be able to go into a crucial training week fully tooled. They have never won the Pro14 title in its various guises, a runners-up spot in 2009 their best performance.
“All our guys are pretty much fit to play, but there are some people who are more important for the semi-final,” said head coach Cockerill, who has signed a two-year contract extension to 2023. “The reality is we want to win (tonight) and will be playing to do so, but we have qualified and we’ve managed to retain the 1872 Cup, so we have other things to prioritise.
“I need to keep my ego in my pocket and worry about what’s more important, which is Ulster at home in a semi and giving ourselves the best chance of getting to a final.”
Bragging rights: Edinburgh’s Stuart McInally with the 1872 Cup after last weekend’s derby win (Inpho)
Edinburgh make ten changes to their starting XV, but Hamish Watson – outstanding last week – goes again from the off and there are also starts for Scotland internationals Darcy Graham and Magnus Bradbury after injury.
Summer signing Nathan Chamberlain, 20, makes his first start for the club at stand-off and is partnered at half-back by Charlie Shiel, 22, a try-scorer last Saturday.
Outside-centre James Johnstone makes his 50th Edinburgh appearance while Marshall Sykes, Roan Frostwick and Matt Gordon are in line for their competitive club debuts off the bench.
Glasgow, champions in 2015 and finalists last year, will be determined to end their season on a high note. Their 50% win record in Conference A falls well below their recent standards and they will be smarting from the way they lost their grip last Saturday having led at half-time. They fell foul of the new breakdown and tackle directives, conceding nearly 20 penalties all told, so that is an area in which new head coach Danny Wilson will be seeking improvement.
In contrast to Cockerill, Wilson has kept changes to a minimum. George Horne replaces fellow Scotland scrum-half Ali Price while Stafford McDowall comes in at 12 for Pete Horne.
In the pack, Glasgow were forced into a late change as lock Richie Gray dropped out for protocol reasons as a close family member was awaiting a test result for Covid. Rob Harley, originally a replacement, comes into the engine room with Kiran McDonald joining the bench. Tom Gordon lines up at seven in a rejigged back row.
Getting his chance: Stafford McDowall starts for Glasgow (Inpho)
Hooker and captain Fraser Brown makes his 100th Glasgow appearance while props Charlie Capps and summer arrival Enrique Pieretto are named in a Glasgow match-day 23 for the first time.
Wilson said: “We wanted to give an opportunity to a few boys who we think deserve their shot based on their efforts in training over the last couple of weeks.
“We’ve got one eye on the start of the new season and know that squad depth is going to be tested more than ever, so it’s another chance to look at certain players and combinations.
“We’re excited to see how Stafford goes in the centre – he’s a young man with a highly impressive skill-set, and he’s a major asset to our squad. Tom and George both come into the starting XV and they’re keen to get going from the first whistle this week.”
The match is due to make history as the first pro rugby match in the UK, and the first pro sports event in Scotland, to welcome spectators since the lockdown began in March. It’s expected that about 700 fans will be admitted to Murrayfield – little more than 1% of capacity – as the Scottish government is using the match as a trial before deciding whether to partially open stadiums from 14 September. Click here for match-day information.
As last week, the game is being played in the capital but tonight’s encounter is the one counting as a home fixture for Edinburgh.
Feisty: tempers flare during last week’s game, which saw Edinburgh book a place in the play-offs (Inpho)
Edinburgh: Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, James Johnstone, Chris Dean (capt), Duhan van der Merwe; Nathan Chamberlain, Charlie Shiel; Pierre Schoeman, Mike Willemse, Simon Berghan, Nick Haining, Jamie Hodgson, Magnus Bradbury, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Rory Sutherland 18 WP Nel 19 Marshall Sykes 20 Luke Crosbie 21 Roan Frostwick 22 Jaco van der Walt 23 Matt Gordon.
Glasgow: Huw Jones; Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg, Stafford McDowall, Ratu Tagive; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Oli Kebble, Fraser Brown (capt), Zander Fagerson, Rob Harley, Scott Cummings, Ryan Wilson, Tom Gordon, Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Charlie Capps, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Robbie Nairn.
If you want to watch the Scottish derby wherever you are, we explain how to find a reliable live stream for Edinburgh v Glasgow.
How to watch Edinburgh v Glasgow from outside your country
If you’re abroad but still want to watch your local Pro14 coverage, like Edinburgh v Glasgow this Friday, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.
VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking by changing your IP address so you appear in a different location and can watch the same legal Premiership live stream you would at home.
Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.
Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.
Edinburgh v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from the UK
Edinburgh v Glasgow, which kicks off at 7.35pm tonight, will be shown live on Premier Sports 1 in the UK.
Premier Sports show every Guinness Pro14 match live in the UK. If you have a Sky or Virgin Media contract, you can add Premier Sports to your package from £9.99 a month.
Or subscribe to Premier Player so you can stream matches online from £9.99 a month or £99 for 12 months, which would include the 2020-21 Pro14 season too. That starts on 3 October.
If you’re from the UK but are overseas when there’s a particular match you want to watch, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.
Edinburgh v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from Europe
If you’re in Austria, Germany, Italy or Switzerland, you can watch Glasgow v Edinburgh (8.35pm kick-off) through the live and on-demand streaming service DAZN. It’s compatible with smart TVs and phones, tablets, PCs, streaming sticks, set-top boxes, gaming consoles and more.
Edinburgh v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from Canada
DAZN, which allows you to live stream sport or watch it on demand, is the place to go to see Edinburgh v Glasgow in Canada. It will kick off at 2.35pm EST and 11.35am on the West Coast.
Edinburgh v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from New Zealand
If you want to tune in to Edinburgh v Glasgow from New Zealand, the match kicks off at 6.35am on Sky Sport NZ 1.
It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99), but if you sign up for 12 months before 30 September 2020 you’ll get your first month free. Plus, you’ll get Sky Go, which allows you to watch live rugby wherever you are.
Edinburgh v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from South Africa
SuperSport came on board as a Pro14 broadcast partner when South African franchises Cheetahs and Kings joined the competition in 2017.
They primarily show matches involving those teams but are also showing Edinburgh v Glasgow, which kicks off at 8.35pm on SuperSport 1.
There are various DStv packages available that give access to SuperSport, ranging from EasyView, with access to Blitz and Premium, which includes all ten sports channels.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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