IT may have been a slow burner with 64 minutes of stalemate but once the two sides broke the try deadlock, the first leg of this season’s 1872 Cup derby turned into a real drama with enough twists and turns in the final 15 minutes to fill a full-length novel with the lead changing hands three times.

Until the 65th minute, the main talking point had been the number of yellow cards shown, with four flashed by then and another to come.

Then Adam Hastings spotted a gap behind the fast-rushing Edinburgh defence, chipped into it for Huw Jones to take on the full and feed Ali Price for the opening try.

Suddenly, the defences that had looked rock solid started to get a little leakier but it was the gutsy Edinburgh side that took advantage as they regained the lead with replacements Jaco van der Walt and Jamie Ritchie combining with Hamish Watson to send Blair Kinghorn in for his side’s first try.

With time running out, there was still time for more drama as Glasgow managed to move back into the Edinburgh 22, won a penalty for Price to tap and go. He was taken high for Nic Groom, his opposite number, to be the final player to see yellow, and from that penalty Glasgow drove the maul with George Turner getting the ball to ground.

Edinburgh still had time to snatch the game back again and finished deep in the Glasgow 22, looking for that winning score only for the home side to disrupt a ruck and get the penalty they needed to end the game and start the celebrations.

If you had only seen the final few minutes, you would have thought it was great game but in reality, most of it had been a dreary affair with defences firmly on top as both teams concentrated on the big hits and physicality so vital to these games.

To be fair, it is a long way from the first time these games have turned out to be such tense affairs, particularly in the months soon after a World Cup when the Scotland players have spent all summer and most of the autumn training together.

With nine of Scotland’s Japan squad in the Glasgow starting side and seven in the Edinburgh side plus a few more who were part of the training group, there was no real mystery in either side, a lot of tension and pretty much stalemate as a result.

If Glasgow had been able to keep their discipline, they might have been able to get the better of things earlier with some good field position rewarded with a penalty for fly-half Hastings to inch their noses in front.

Their discipline was a problem, though. What is worse, they were silly, soft penalties they were giving away, three for off-side in the backs plus more at the breakdown, one for an off-side player picking up the ball, and Edinburgh are too good a side not to take advantage.

They levelled things as the game entered the second quarter when fly-half Simon Hickey landed his first penalty and though his second came back off the post they kept the pressure on Glasgow to hand him a second go and this time he made no mistake and the visitors were ahead.

By then, Glasgow were down to 14 men with Ruaridh Jackson in the sin-bin after leaping to charge down a chip as Darcy Graham broke down the wing and sticking out a leg to trip the Edinburgh flyer.

The home side weathered the storm well, though, able to pressure Edinburgh and drawing level when prop Zander Fagerson, who had been the outstanding forward in the opening exchanges, won a scrum penalty over Pierre Schoeman with Hastings landing the points.

It should have been the home side who went in ahead after Scott Cummings broke through midfield with George Horne in support. Edinburgh did brilliantly to get back and stop the score but Viliame Mata, the No.8, was sin-binned for coming in the side. Instead of harvesting the points on offer, Glasgow went for the scrum, were penalised, and the sides went into the break still level.

Nothing happened to change that when the players got back on, Edinburgh successfully negotiating Mata’s time off without damage.

However, they were desperately unlucky to go

back down to 14 men as soon as he came back on with Stuart McInally doing nothing wrong but still seeing the yellow card.

His side, though, managed to edge in front with Hickey’s third penalty while he was

off, setting up the thrilling finale.

Scorers, Glasgow Warriors – Tries: Price, Turner. Cons: Hastings 2. Pen: Hastings 2.

Edinburgh – Try: Kinghorn. Con: van der Walt.

Pens: Hickey 3.

Glasgow Warriors: R Jackson (sin bin: 27-37); T Seymour (N Matawalu, 62), H Jones (N Grigg, 73), S Johnson, K Steyn (O Kebble, 59-65); A Hastings, G Horne (A Price, 63); A Seiuli (O Kebble, 65), F Brown (G Turner, 50, sin bin: 55-65), Z Fagerson , S Cummings, J Gray, R Harley (A Ashe, 63), C Gibbins (C) (T Gordon, 73), R Wilson.

Edinburgh: B Kinghorn; D Graham, M Bennett, G Taylor (J Johnstone, 70), D van der Merwe (M Willemse, 51-60); S Hickey (J van der Walt, 62), H Pyrgos (N Groom, 43); P Schoeman, S McInally (C) (sin bin: 50-60, M Willemse, ), P Ceccarelli (S Berghan, 56), B Toolis (L Carmichael, 63), G Gilchrist, M Bradbury, H Watson, V Mata (sin bin: 40-50, J Ritchie, 59).

Referee: B Blain (Scotland)

Attendance: 7,531