Exactly 11 years ago, Al Kellock came off the Hughenden bench to help Edinburgh to their last Inter-City win on Glasgow soil, but it is fair to say now that the 33-year-old lock is in no mind to do the capital side the favour of helping them end their long losing streak in the west when he lines up against them at Scotstoun this afternoon.
If the Bishopbriggs-born Kellock felt he was batting for the wrong side back in 2003, he has more than made up for it since. For him, the 1872 Cup has sometimes looked like a form of penance in which his energised performances could be read as an attempt to atone for the four seasons he spent at the other end of the M8. Certainly, few players have relished the Warriors' recent domination of the fixture quite as much as he has.
Kellock's appetite for Scotland's annual two-part derby clearly persuaded Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend that the lock and captain [he takes the armband back from Josh Strauss] was well worth his place in the side. Kellock has made just four appearances for the Warriors this season and has fallen down the second-row pecking order behind Jonny Gray, Leone Nakarawa and Tim Swinson, but in a game where the emotional factor is huge, his inspirational leadership qualities could have an even higher value than usual.
Kellock proved his readiness for a return to first-team action when he turned out for the Glasgow A team against their Edinburgh counterparts on a back pitch at Murrayfield earlier this week. The fact he was substituted before the interval in that game was a clear signal of what Townsend had in mind
"Al has been working really hard and has been very consistent with his training," Townsend explained. "He has been heavily involved in preparing for this game and his participation in the 'A' fixture on Monday was of real benefit to him for this match."
In fairness, the fact that Gray and Nakarawa, now seen as the first-choice locks, have both been left out of the starting line-up - although Nakarawa has been named among the replacements - might also suggest that Townsend has one eye on Glasgow's critical European fixtures over the coming month. If so, a victory for the Warriors today would, amongst other things, provide yet another reminder of the advantage they enjoy over their friends from the east in terms of strength in depth.
But is that gap closing? Even with an injury list that might have been created by a particularly gory episode of Casualty, Edinburgh have dug in and pulled off some notable results this season. There may be a gulf between the sides in the Guinness PRO12 table - Glasgow are second, Edinburgh eighth - but in their unbeaten European run and their 48-0 thrashing of Treviso eight days ago Edinburgh have unquestionably shown signs of progress just lately.
On his appointment 17 months ago, Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons was specifically charged with creating the same esprit de corps and resilience at Murrayfield that Townsend had engendered at Scotstoun. There were precious few signs of progress last season, but there is a growing feeling that Solomons might just be starting to make things happen for his side.
Asked if his project was starting to bear fruit, Solomons said: "I think it is. Glasgow have done exceptionally well but we've got to look at ourselves and not compare ourselves to them. We've come a long way.
"The realisation of our vision is starting to come through. With
youngsters coming through, the strength in depth is so much better.
"The way we've tried to build Edinburgh Rugby, starting from scratch is to get the conditioning right, make sure our set-piece is solid, then get our defence right. Then you move on to evolving your attack, focusing on skills, decision making and stuff like that."
Despite the hammering of Treviso, Solomons has not baulked at changing a winning side. The front-five has been given a more abrasive look by the return of hooker Ross Ford and lock Anton Bresler, while Tom Brown gets a race chance to show the form that got him into the Scotland side a couple of years ago as he takes over from the rested Tim Visser on the wing.
On the Warriors side, the return of Kellock is not the only change to the team that edged an epic contest against Munster a week ago. Among the backs, Stuart Hogg resumes at full-back, taking over from Peter Murchie; fit-again Alex Dunbar returns at centre in place of Richie Vernon; and Henry Pyrgos and Duncan Weir are preferred to Niko Matawalu and Finn Russell as the half-backs.
In the pack, Gordon Reid and Pat MacArthur also come back, Swinson partners Kellock in the second row, and a reshuffled back row sees Ryan Wilson brought in at blindside while Rob Harley moves across to the openside flank.
Last season's contests were both won by Glasgow, but only by slim margins. If anything, the impression now is that the two sides are more evenly matched than then. However, there is clear blue water between them as far as the respective coaches' attitudes to the silverware on offer is concerned.
As far as Solomons is concerned, the physical existence of the 1872 Cup means little. Townsend believes it means rather a lot.
Addressing the match's febrile backdrop, Townsend said: "I believe the No.1 factor is that we are playing for a trophy. It does something to people when there is a trophy there. Everyone wants to play in this game."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article