THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

DAVID FERGUSON
SCOTLAND'S remaining professional teams will have a rediscovered piece of silverware to fight for as well as Magners League supremacy when they meet at Murrayfield next Friday.
The 1872 Challenge Cup was launched to mark the date when the two cities first faced each other on the rugby field, the year after the world's first international rugby match between Scotland and England. Going back to 23 November, 1872, the inter-city rivalry is almost 16 years older than that of Scottish football's Old Firm, Rangers and Celtic.

The cup was contested in the late 1990s as Edinburgh and Glasgow strived to engender new interest in the fledgling professional teams, but was last played for, and won by Edinburgh, in 1998-99. It has surfaced again in another determined bid to raise awareness of the history of this fixture, which has survived through various district and club guises.

The city teams will contest it again in the Magners League affair on Friday, 28 February at Murrayfield (7.30pm), and in the return fixture at Firhill in April, with Glasgow having to win both games if they are to reclaim it from the holders.

Underlining the close-knit nature of Scottish pro rugby these days, the respective team captains are close friends and former travel companions. Allister Hogg returned from injury to take over from Mike Blair as Edinburgh captain in their fine win over Leinster last weekend while Alastair Kellock is confident he will be back from his injury in time to lead the Warriors in what promises to be a mouth-watering fixture.

Hogg and Kellock represent something of a new breed of Scotland internationalists, both having been identified as captain material early on in their senior careers. The pair came through the ranks at Stirling together, Kellock having been persuaded along to Bridgehaugh from Bishopbriggs by an inspirational late uncle, and have been key players for Scotland despite intense competition in both the second and back rows.

Hogg admitted: "I think there will be a laugh and a joke perhaps at the coin toss, but once you're out on the pitch it is totally different; you just want to perform to your best and win.

"Ali and I played for Stirling together and then when we played for Edinburgh together we used to share lifts to and from training and matches, so I know him really well and he is a good friend. I've only ever played against him once before and it is always good fun to play against your mates because it adds an edge to the game."

With Glasgow sitting one point ahead of Edinburgh in the Magners League standings, the victorious team will finish 2007 as the country's top team and for the 24-year-old Edinburgh skipper that will add to the motivation.

He added: "We were all very proud of beating Leinster in the Heineken Cup on Saturday and it was also good to see Glasgow defeat Biarritz not long ago, but we are determined to finish above them and there is a real excitement in the squad about the game."

Kellock suffered the disappointment of missing out on World Cup selection but since leaving Edinburgh he has become a central figure in the Glasgow squad, and admitted he is more comfortable back in his native city.

"It was strange to have played for Edinburgh because I had played all my age group rugby at Glasgow, but it just so happened that when I turned professional there was a contract for me at Edinburgh. But I wouldn't change the way it has gone at all; the time at Edinburgh was great for me. I got to play with Nathan Hines, Scott Murray and Todd Blackadder – all international second rows.

"I am pleased to be back in Glasgow though. I played in the inter-city games against Edinburgh for Glasgow Under-16s and there were always good games to play in. There is rivalry between the two teams because of the history of the fixture, but there is also a rivalry between the cities on the whole as far as any sport is concerned."

He added: "I've known Hoggy for about eight years and we are good friends. It is a great coincidence that he is now captain of Edinburgh and I'm captain of Glasgow and it adds a wee bit to the game."

This article was posted on 20-Dec-2007, 08:22 by Hugh Barrow.