The Herald

We were there: a damp squib's cast of thousands
Published on 2 January 2012


Hugh MacDiarmid was erring on the side of sardonic when he wrote his poem Glasgow, 1960, portraying crowds clogging the streets on their way to a philosophical debate rather than a football match.

So what would the dyspeptic old rhymester have made of the scenes near Maryhill yesterday afternoon? Almost 9000 people flocking to a rugby match; not a parking space for miles; an enthusiasm for the ovoid ball game not previously known in these parts.
It was a strange experience indeed. Stranger still when you consider the part BBC Alba played in ensuring that the match would be staged at the most inconvenient time on a day when most of the country's public transport system had gone into cold storage. Despite the logistical difficulties, the fans flocked to Firhill to bear witness to the most eagerly anticipated domestic game in years, a genuine rugby occasion.
And a genuine damp squib as far as the rugby itself was concerned. Now, I like a bit of grunt and needle as much as the next man, and have little time for those who dismiss games where the try count stops short of double figures, but this was still a bit of a stinker – tight on the scoreboard, but desperately dull at ground level. The sort of error-strewn showpiece over which to draw a veil of discretion, it had a dollop of controversy near the end when Matt Scott was sent to the sin bin and Moray Low heaved himself over the line for the only try, but in terms of heartstopping drama it probably ranked alongside one of the weaker episodes of Downton Abbey. Glasgow celebrated their victory, but their body language betrayed relief rather than jubilation.
Chris Cusiter's bearing suggested bemusement. The scrum-half picked up the man-of-the-match award for what may have been his weakest performance of the season. In fact, most of the heroics on offer were dished up by those Edinburgh players who belied their underdog tags with displays of pride and character. Michael Bradley, their coach, had picked a controversially weak team, but they seemed determined to show they were nobody's easybeats.
It would be nice to say that they were roared on by their followers, but roaring isn't really an Edinburgh trait. Still, the famously dozy capital types have been getting a little more animated of late, their sensational Heineken Cup victories over Cardiff, Racing Metro and London Irish having spurred their tonsils into action in recent weeks. When Lee Jones almost struck back with a later try, being squeezed out in the left corner by some heroic last-ditch Glasgow tackling, the applause from the Edinburgh fans reached a level that suggested some of them might even have removed their sheepskin gloves.
But it was the Glasgow lot who won the battle in the stands – as decisively ahead in volume levels as they were in numbers. For a long time, there has been a feeling that Scottish sides have failed to reap the full benefit of home advantage because their support has been so weak, but Glasgow are building the kind of passionate following that sides such as Munster and Ulster have enjoyed for years. You can almost hear the ghosts of old Murrayfield officials tut-tutting when the Firhill faithful give opposition kickers some grief, but the Murrayfield accountants won't be complaining as long as the attendances keep going up.
And with little to sing about as far as their players' performances were concerned, the coaches were quick to praise the crowd. "The environment was fantastic," said Bradley. "I thought the Glasgow supporters were very good."
His counterpart Sean Lineen added: "It's a tough fixture and I thought the crowd was fantastic. It's a shame we couldn't put on a better performance for the purists. But in a derby match it's all about winning."
And with that they headed off into the chill Glasgow night. To a poetry reading most likely.

This article was originally posted on 2-Jan-2012, 08:06 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 2-Jan-2012, 12:45.