Edinburgh 23-23 Glasgow Warriors

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Media caption,

Highlights Edinburgh 23-23 Glasgow

Ruaridh Jackson snatched a late try in the 1872 Cup then struck the post with a penalty as Glasgow came from behind to draw with rivals Edinburgh.

A healthy Murrayfield crowd of 13,240 watched Edinburgh keep their noses in front thanks to a try by flanker Ross Rennie and two by winger Tim Visser.

But Al Kellock and Colin Shaw forced their way over the line for the visitors to keep them in contention.

And with the match heading for an Edinburgh win, Jackson touched down.

Warriors and Scotland back Rory Lamont was stretchered off after landing awkwardly following a mid-air collision with Rennie.

After lengthy treatment he was taken from the field on a spinal board wearing a neck brace.

He was conscious in the treatment room and was taken to hospital for a precautionary scan on a head knock.

It was a contest which had all the intensity expected from a local derby, with places in Scotland's Six Nations squad also up for grabs.

And the drama would have been complete had Jackson managed to either convert his late try instead of knocking it wide, or kick his last-minute penalty in blustery conditions.

His effort came back off the upright but at the final whistle it was the Warriors who were the happier team and they now welcome Edinburgh to Firhill on New Year's Day on an unbeaten league run of seven matches.

Image caption,

Kellock scored one of Warriors' three tries at Murrayfield

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson and his coaching team were in the stand, looking ahead to the Calcutta Cup tie with England on 4 February.

The team selections would have made for interesting reading for Robinson, with Laidlaw named at fly-half opposite Duncan Weir, rather than Jackson, who began the most recent international but was named as substitute for the Warriors.

There were numerous other intriguing match-ups across the field - Mike Blair versus Chris Cusiter at scrum-half and Rennie and John Barclay and open-side flanker to name two.

Edinburgh's Rennie made the strongest first impression in his personal duel with Barclay, collecting Netani Talei's short pass to crash over for a third-minute try which Laidlaw converted.

Glasgow's fortunes suffered again when hooker Pat McArthur was shown a yellow card for obstructing James King as he attempted to collect his own chip and Laidlaw's penalty extended the hosts' lead.

Weir replied with a penalty after Geoff Cross transgressed at a ruck before Laidlaw missed a kick at goal.

McArthur's first act on his return was to throw in at a five-metre lineout, which Kellock collected before, a few phases later, barging over on the blind-side after 28 minutes. Weir converted to level.

Laidlaw and Weir exchanged penalties early in the second half before Visser's first score.

The wing scampered over in the left corner after the ball spilled out of a scrum and Talei picked up.

Visser had more to do for his second score, but evaded David Lemi's last-ditch tackle to touch down.

Glasgow then turned to Jackson, who grubber-kicked through for Shaw to score after 62 minutes.

Jackson missed the conversion to leave the Warriors five points adrift but the visitors' persistence paid off.

Glasgow rumbled forward through their pack and Lee Jones failed to catch Cusiter's high kick into the swirling wind inside the goal area, with Jackson pouncing to score.

The conversion was missed, but Jackson was granted another chance to kick the winning points when Edinburgh were caught offside.

However, his ambitious penalty kick into the wind rebounded off the post and the match was drawn.

Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley: "Glasgow are nine points ahead of us in this league and deservedly so.

"They weren't going to give up easily. A couple of things went our way at the start of the second half and then they did what they do, which is kept the pressure on us, and we weren't able to close out the game.

"The two tries we got in the second half were exceptional work by the boys and for Tim to get the call on the TMO was great.

"Glasgow, as we knew, came back at us and we just weren't able to control the last 20 minutes. They were very dominant in the last 20 minutes and kept us under pressure.

"With a couple of minutes to go it was looking difficult for us and they had two kicks to win it.

"From 20 minutes out I was delighted with a potential win and with two minutes to go I was happy enough to get a draw."

Glasgow Warriors captain Alastair Kellock: "We've got character in abundance. We have shown over the last few weeks.

"It's not a bad result tonight. A draw away from home is a good result.

"We were good at times and we were poor at times.

"These derbies are always quite scrappy regardless of the conditions, but the wind was difficult to deal with.

"It's disappointing to give away the tries. We knew big Tim Visser was a threat and I would rather he had more pressure on him.

"I thought the crowd was tremendous. The Glasgow supporters were top class: that gives us a big lift."

MATCH DETAILS

Edinburgh: Paterson; Jones, De Luca, King, Visser; Laidlaw, M Blair; Traynor, Ford, Cross, Gilchrist, Cox, Denton, Rennie, Talei.

Replacements: Scott for King (70), Jacobsen for Traynor (50), Lozada for Cox (40), Grant for Rennie (63).

Not Used: Walker, Gilding, Leck, Thompson.

Glasgow: Hogg; Lemi, Nathan, Morrison, Lamont; Weir, Cusiter; R Grant, MacArthur, Cusack, Gray, Kellock, Harley, Barclay, Beattie.

Replacements: Shaw for Lamont (34), Jackson for Weir (55), Welsh for R. Grant (15), Hall for MacArthur (55), Low for Cusack (55), Ryder for Gray (58), Fusaro for Beattie (32).

Not Used: Pyrgos.

Att: 13,240

Ref: Neil Paterson (SRFU).

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