THE former Heart of Midlothian coach Valdas Ivanauskas had a succinct saying he liked to employ every time his team were about to play their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian: derby is derby. He meant that no matter the circumstances - such as the form of the teams or the size of their injury lists or even the timing of the match - everyone involved would play with the same commitment, ensuring that the fixture was as keenly contested as ever.

In their own more verbally expansive ways, both Glasgow coach Danny Wilson and his Edinburgh counterpart Mike Blair delivered the same message yesterday as the countdown to the first 1872 Cup match of the season began in earnest. 

Both teams will be missing most of their Scotland internationals, given the rescheduling of the game - postponed from Christmas because of Covid - for the night before the national side’s Six Nations match against Ireland. And because of the timing, the match at Scotstoun will not get half the attention it normally would. But for the 46 players who will take part, and of course for the coaching teams as well, it will remain one of the biggest, most eagerly anticipated games of the season.

“The Christmas derbies are the ones we all get excited about, with the tradition of those games, the packed houses and the fact you have all your big guns available,” Wilson said. “This one is a little bit different, obviously, because it clashes with a Six Nations match - but it’s no different for whoever puts on the jersey. 

“The 1872 Cup starts with this game and finishes with the last game of the season. It was with Edinburgh for three years and last season we managed to wrestle it back off them and now we want to keep it. The start of that is this game. 

“The derby takes care of itself in terms of motivation. They’re the biggest games of the season and they’re also still Scottish trials in many ways, even though a lot of Scotland players are missing. I still think it’s an exciting opportunity for players to put their hands up and be seen and noticed at this kind of level, because the derby has an intensity which makes it the nearest thing to an international.

“Being rearranged for this time of year isn’t great, if we’re being honest. Both teams will be reliant on who Scotland select or take as travelling reserves - that’s the challenge we knew would be in place once this fixture was arranged for this period.

“Now it’s about getting excited and motivated about a home derby which, as I said to the boys, is the biggest home game of the year. We’re excited about it.”

The game itself should certainly be fascinating given this is the time Wilson will have coached against the new-look Edinburgh side who have adopted a far more expansive style under Blair than the one they had when Richard Cockerill was at the helm. And given not only that, but the fact that the teams are level on points near the top of the URC, it is a match the outcome of which is particularly hard to predict. 

“They're playing some really good rugby at the moment and scoring a lot of good tries,” Wilson added. “If you look at their evolution, over the last few years they’ve had a real backbone defensively and at the set piece. Now, on top of that, they are playing a brand of rugby with some really good individuals and have some good foreign signings who are playing well for them.

“They’re in good form, but both teams have been in good form over the season and it makes for an exciting encounter. The only difference is that both teams will be a little different because of the make-up of the squads, but other than that it’s the same style of rugby that they will play and the same threats.” 

Blair, meanwhile, has urged his fringe players to prove themselves worthy of more regular selection for consideration. And, instead of feeling sorry for himself because he will be without so many first-choice players, he insisted he would look on the positive side of the situation.

“You can look at these situations in different ways,” he said. “You can moan and complain about things being unfair.

“But I love it. I love the fact we’ve talked about giving players opportunities. I love the fact they’re going to have the chance to play in these big games and show what they can do.

“I want them coming moaning to me and saying: ‘Remember how well I played there - why are you picking Hamish Watson or Pierre Schoeman in front of me?’ It’s crucial for the club’s long-term development that these guys get games.”