'Tough one to take': Van Der Merwe rues missed chances in 1872 Cup battle

REACTION: Edinburgh’s win over Glasgow Warriors was not enough to claim the 1872 Cup on Sunday, leaving star-wing Duhan van der Merwe a little disappointed.

South African-born Scottish wing Duhan van der Merwe scored an incredible try during the 19-14 win over Glasgow Warriors.

Van der Merwe earned the man of the match award after his 80-metre sprint to the try line – giving his coach Sean Everitt something to smile about.

But while Edinburgh won the battle, Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors won the war as their victory in the opening leg meant that they would keep the 1872 Cup and bragging rights for another year.

Van der Merwe was happy to take the plaudits in the win but lamented the fact that his side couldn’t overturn the scoreline to get the prized 1872 Cup back in the Scottish capital.

Playing this on repeat 🔥@duhanvdmerwe | @Scotlandteam pic.twitter.com/PZk8wEX0yV

— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) December 31, 2023

“It’s a pretty tough one to take,” Van der Merwe said.

“The boys will be hurting after that one, we got into their 22 quite a lot but we couldn’t get away with points. Towards the end we just had to take the three points.

“The league points mean a lot to us and are more important. We left a lot of opportunities out there.

“We probably left 15 or 20 points out there. We will go back and look at it and work hard on it.”

The win did take Edinburgh to fifth on the log, with Glasgow firmly in third spot in a very congested top eight.