Glasgow Warriors 17-0 Edinburgh: Dave Rennie pleased by evacuation response

Head coaches Dave Rennie and Richard Cockerill were on the pitch as Scotstoun Stadium was evacuated

Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie was pleased with how his players reacted to a stadium evacuation during their 1872 Cup win over Edinburgh.

With 38 minutes on the clock and Glasgow leading 3-0, a security announcement halted the game and fans were ordered to vacate Scotstoun.

Firefighters gave the all-clear and play resumed after a 30-minute delay, with Warriors going on to win 17-0.

"It was a bit odd," Rennie told BBC Scotland of the evacuation.

Glasgow confirmed in a post-match statement the evacuation was due to an "isolated but contained incident that took place in the North Stand".

"We talked in the changing room that we can't use it as an excuse, that we've had our rhythm knocked.

"We needed to show a bit of resolve and rip back into things so I was pleased with the attitude around that."

Finn Russell kicked 12 points in an error-strewn match, with Lee Jones adding some gloss to the scoreline in the last play with the only try of the game.

Former Edinburgh winger Lee Jones scored a late try for Glasgow

Following last weekend's 18-17 reverse at Murrayfield against the same opposition, in which Warriors failed to overcome a team playing with 14 men for 74 minutes, Rennie was satisfied with the victory even if it was not one of his side's better displays this season.

"I'm pretty pleased with that," the New Zealander said. "It's what was required.

"We talked about limiting off-loads and being a bit more direct, building some pressure. It wasn't pretty but we played the game at the right end of the field and forced Edinburgh to play from deep. They made a few mistakes and we profited off it.

"It was tougher mentally tonight. We had to be prepared to grind out a win and you need that at times."

With 11 wins from 12 Pro14 fixtures so far this season, Rennie feels his side has an excellent platform on which to build in 2018.

Both sets of players had to leave the field during the stadium evacuation

"We've got ourselves into a pretty strong position," he said. "We've got a lot of growth in us

"We've used a number of players and have a handful coming back soon which is exciting. We've learned a lot about some good young kids and hopefully that creates a lot of competition for places at the business end [of the season].

"We've still got a lot to go in terms of getting the perfect game out there."

For Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill there was disappointment at the result but plenty of pride in his team's performance.

"I thought Glasgow deserved to win," Cockerill said. "They played better than us, were a bit more accurate.

"I was very pleased with a lot of our performance. I thought we created opportunities in both the first and second half but we couldn't hold on to the ball.

"If you don't take those opportunities against good sides when you create them it will come back to bite you.

"We were in the hunt, putting them under pressure. In defeat here at Scotstoun, which is a tough place to come, I thought we took a step forward tonight."

Much like his Glasgow counterpart Rennie, Cockerill sees much to be positive about heading into the New Year.

Edinburgh sit fourth in the Pro14's Conference B with seven wins from 12, and are on course to secure a home quarter-final in the European Challenge Cup.

Edinburgh's handling cost them at crucial points

"Everybody can see we are making progress," the former Leicester Tigers boss continued.

"We're fighting with Ulster to get in that top three and we're trying to push up the league. We're doing well in Europe. We're growing as a team. We're growing an environment and a culture and we're trying to play.

"We came here and played rugby. It wasn't as if we parked the bus and tried to stop them scoring. Actually we had as many opportunities as they did. They took one, we didn't take any and 17-0 probably skews the game a little bit.

"Last year or the year before, Edinburgh would have capitulated and lost by 40. We're a team that's got some bite and steel about us now."