Edinburgh 37
Glasgow 9
The pressure increased on Glasgow's management team last night after Edinburgh stretched further ahead in the race to win the inaugural Bank of Scotland Pro Cup.
The news that Steve Anderson, the Glasgow backs coach, is set to leave has increased tension to the extent that it is understood there have been altercations in the Hughenden camp, with players also deeply unhappy by the manner of public criticism from their coach.
Last night's efforts offered little relief as Edinburgh won while rarely showing any real urgency.
''It was very pleasing to get the win and the bonus point, even though that was not up to the standard of recent weeks, perhaps due to the wind,'' suggested the Edinburgh coach, Frank Hadden, also noting that the teams now know one another so well that they had needed to change their lineout codes at half-time.
His disappointment at the overall quality of the performance could not even be construed as overly condescending given how little threat was posed by a Glasgow side which has struggled to deal with changes to their operation whereas Edinburgh have been assembling an exceptional squad.
For his part, Glasgow coach Kiwi Searancke is finding it hard to justify how a side which once attacked with abandon now look incapable of scoring tries, acknowledging that his counterpart's observations merely reinforced his side's problems.
''That's a double blow, isn't it, because I felt Edinburgh were beatable tonight and that's not being arrogant,'' he said.
Certainly after again despairing of his players' inability to perform the basics, noting that they had made no fewer than 36 unforced errors, he has little to be arrogant about right now. By contrast, the only truly disappointing aspect about Edinburgh's play is that they are now demonstrating just how they underperformed in cross border competition this season. They opened with the swagger to be expected of men who knew they had been playing the superior rugby recently and looked like they might run away with it when they opened the scoring with the greatest of ease just a couple of minutes into the game.
Ally Dickson made initial inroads, breaking a tackle midway inside the visitors' half and, when he threw the ball over his shoulder, Brendan Laney took it at full tilt to leave the cover trailing and go in under the posts for a try he converted himself.
Glasgow, desperately short of confidence, were hesitant and ponderous in everything they sought to do in the opening quarter. They did, though, manage to reduce the deficit after gradually working their way down the left touchline through a succession of phases. Edinburgh were penalised for handling in a ruck just outside their own 22 and Calvin Howarth's well- struck kick from wide on the left hit the target.
Moments later Laney re-established the seven-point cushion when Glasgow were penalised for collapsing a maul and Edinburgh seemed to sit back on their lead.
A vintage run by Metcalfe, dodging and weaving his way through traffic deep into the 22, did earn Howarth another chance to reduce the leeway after Edinburgh defence crept offside.
However, once again the response was instant and when Edinburgh's driving maul was collapsed as it entered the Glasgow 22, Laney took the easy points on offer.
He was on target, too, immediately after the interval when Glasgow were caught offside at a ruck 30 metres out on the left.
Thereafter Edinburgh seemed to relax again and Glasgow enjoyed a fair bit of possession without looking like making real inroads.
However, when their hosts then looked to assert themselves, it was very different as ball was shifted neatly out of the tackle down the left touchline then moved infield where Craig Joiner, now re-established in this side after being a peripheral figure last season, danced his way through the defence before putting Craig Smith in.
So dynamic, apparently, was the prop's finish that the stadium announcer told the 4107 strong crowd that Chris Paterson had scored it . . . an easy mistake to make!
Laney converted and while Howarth then put over his third penalty of the night their chances of any sort of comeback were further damaged when Dave Hilton was sin-binned shortly afterwards for handling illegally at a ruck.
The result was sealed when Laney made a neat break down the left and released half-back partner, Mike Blair.
The scrum half was hauled down inches short of the line but when McInroy blatantly went into the ruck from the wrong side to try to relieve the danger, the referee awarded both a penalty try and sent him to the sin bin, reducing hapless Glasgow to 13 men.
That was immediately punished as man-of-the-match Laney again made inroads before shifting the ball right and, when it was returned infield, he was on the receiving end of Joiner's scoring pass to score with his last touch of the ball before being replaced, having done his work for the night.
Edinburgh D Lee; S Webster, C Joiner, A Dickson, C Paterson; B Laney (T Philip 72), M Blair; A Jacobsen, D Hall (C Di Ciacca 63),
J Brannigan (C Smith 51), N Hines, S Murray (G Perrett 72), T Blackadder, M Leslie (A Dall 70), S Taylor
Glasgow G Metcalfe; J Steel, I McInroy, J Naufahu, S Moffat (R Kerr 67); C Howarth (B Irving 70), A Nicol (C Black 80); C Blades (D Hilton 40), G Bulloch (S Lawson 65), A Kelly, A Hall (N Ross 58), J White, A Wilson, D Macfadyen (C Blades 65-71), J Petrie (G Simpson 40)
Referee N Williams (Wales)
Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 7-0, 7-3, 10-3, 10-6, 13-6(half-time); 16-6, 23-6, 23-9, 30-9, 37-9
Scorers. Edinburgh. Tries Laney (2), Smith (56), Pen try (69), Laney (71) Con Laney (2, 56,69), Paterson (71) Pen Laney (13, 39, 41)
Glasgow. Pens Howarth (10, 37, 59)
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