Edinburgh 17 Glasgow 21: Warriors cup win increases national prospects Dundee 1 Aberdeen 3: Irishman has now arrived in top flight after a year away

Senior Sports Writer

Monday 31 December 2012

A performance befitting of the man of the match in Saturday's 1872 Cup-clinching defeat of Edinburgh has boosted Ryan Wilson's hopes of fulfilling his principal ambition and playing Test rugby.

Ryan Wilson has Scotland selection hopes after battling Tim Visser and Piers Frances of Edinburgh. Picture: Stewart Attwood

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Kevin Ferrie

The Glasgow Warriors No.8 plays in the position where competition is fiercest in the Scottish game, but he picked an excellent occasion at the national stadium to add personal honours to a team triumph in front of Scott Johnson, the new Scotland caretaker coach.

"It does go through your mind that you want to outplay your opposition. It's sort of like a trial match," he said after Glasgow's win helped them claim a rare derby double. "Obviously, I want to do my best for Glasgow, but I've always got that little inkling in the back of my head thinking Scotland, Scotland, Scotland. "I want to push on and play for Scotland, that's my main goal. If I keep playing well for my club when we're doing so well at the moment, hopefully that will just come."Although Edinburgh players formed the nucleus of Scotland's squad for the autumn internationals, Glasgow's continued dominance of a fixture they have only lost once in the past nine meetings came at an important time, their captain Al Kellock, acknowledged. "I think a lot of our boys did themselves a lot of good," said the man who had just lifted the trophy for a fourth successive year. "Scott [Johnson] will have been watching and there's probably not too many stand-outs – I thought everybody was exceptional. Our back-row was really good in a battle that was always going to be competitive. "Both Ryan Wilson and Bobby Harley have been super two weeks in a row and that's what it's about, as well – consistency, so credit to them. For Henry [Pyrgos] not to start last week and then come in was really pleasing, as his impact, like Duncan Weir's last week, was top class. "I spoke during the week to our boys who came in this week. There wasn't a player who wasn't playing because he played badly last week. There was nobody dropped. There was rotation and that's when it's up to the guy who's been brought in to step up and fill that jersey and they did. "Dougie Hall's a prime example, he did brilliantly. Pat [MacArthur] did very, very well last week but it's great when you've got quality like Dougie sitting on the bench and he puts in a performance like that when you give him a start."Wilson had observed that he would not have been able to put in the performance he did had it not been for the front-row who did much to set the tone. Kellock also picked up on that, noting it was particularly important for Moray Low.The tight-head prop was considered to be ahead of Saturday's opposite number Geoff Cross in the Scotland pecking order before he was injured 18 months ago, but after recovering, he has subsequently missed out to the Edinburgh man. "[He] had a point to prove out there and he proved it," said Kellock. "Our scrummage was dominant against a good scrum. Chunk [Allan Jacobsen, Edinburgh's loosehead] is a great scrummager, so Moray should enjoy that one and continue to work hard. "We know how good he is when he gets it right, but there's a lot of competition at our club for tighthead prop and he's done himself a lot of good."Kellock did express frustration that having had plenty of time left after scoring their third try in both derbies, Glasgow did not go on to secure the four-try bonus point in either.The reasons will be examined in the context of ensuring standards do not drop with Kellock light-heartedly citing Low as a prime example. "Consistency is key for players, so to be a great player, you've got to have that. "Muzza knows that and we all know that. He will now have to go away, work hard and put in another and another and another and then he can start tapping himself on the back – before that I won't allow it."Edinburgh 17 Glasgow 21 Lifting 1872 trophy boosts aspiring internationalists

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Edinburgh 17 Glasgow 21: Warriors cup win increases national prospects Dundee 1 Aberdeen 3: Irishman has now arrived in top flight after a year away

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