Rugby rivals may have shared a Christmas feast… but ruthless Glasgow coach Franco is plotting second helpings of pain for Edinburgh

When Mosese Tuipulotu was pictured enjoying Christmas dinner the other day with big brother Sione, Tom Jordan, Josh McKay, Jack Dempsey and others, the thought arose that it might have been the closest an Edinburgh player had got to a Glasgow counterpart all week.

Mosese was evidently a very welcome interloper into the annual gathering of Warriors’ southern hemisphere ‘orphans’, those players spending the festive period thousands of miles from close friends and family.

It was another sign of the warm bonds that have been forged at Scotstoun over the last few years, head coach Franco Smith cultivating a happy dressing room that, in turn, has become a winning one. 

Little wonder that most of their overseas talent have been happy to commit their long-term futures to the project as Warriors chase a second successive URC title while also aiming to go far in the Champions Cup.

This afternoon’s second leg of the 1872 Cup is a chance to add further silverware to the cabinet but, truthfully, it is the thought of accumulating a further four or five URC points to their tally that holds most appeal for Smith and his players. 

When Warriors lost this corresponding fixture at Murrayfield 12 months ago but still won the cup on aggregate, the subsequent trophy lift was one of the most despondent ever seen.

Clinching the local bragging rights clearly felt like a distinct second prize on that occasion.

History could repeat itself should Edinburgh eke out a victory by 18 points or fewer this afternoon but you sense this Glasgow machine is not of a mind to make the same mistake twice.

That Smith, traditionally no stranger to making wholesale alterations to his matchday line-up, has made just two changes from the team that won so convincingly at Hampden last weekend in the first leg is another sign of how seriously Warriors are taking their final outing of a stellar year.

‘I don’t think it was necessary for me to mention (avoiding complacency) to the boys,’ said Smith, looking wounded at the mere suggestion. ‘The 14 points that we gave away at the back end of the game was enough motivation this week. We know how easy that can happen.

‘That’s one thing. The second thing is our objective — it reaches beyond this Edinburgh game. 

‘We obviously have high expectations of ourselves and hopefully we can see that this weekend. 

‘We expect Edinburgh to be better than they were last time. They will be in front of their home crowd and they will be very determined to put things right.’

Asked to prioritise between winning the 1872 Cup again or picking up another league win, Smith greedily, but understandably, didn’t see a need to settle for one or the other.

‘Well, both will be very good!’ he added. ‘So, for now, the focus is on being the best version of ourselves and to keep on progressing.

‘It’s been a long year and a quality year for us but you’re only as good as the last game that you’ve played. 

‘We will have to be fully engaged on what we can bring. Our mission is the URC trophy. It’s not just winning against one specific team.’

Smith comes across as a hard taskmaster but also shows his softer side at times, especially around this time of year.

That the Warriors players were given time off to enjoy Christmas highlighted as much.

‘I know that the southern hemisphere boys had their Christmas lunch together,’ he added. ‘I think it’s mainly organised by the boys, so I’m sure they’ve stepped up to the plate from a Christmas Day perspective.

‘Rugby is important. It obviously pays the bills. There’s a lot of enjoyment and pleasure that comes from it. But family is most important for us. The message this week is, you must align your heart with your head.’

At the other end of the M8, the build-up has been rather less serene as Edinburgh head into what feels like a potentially season-defining match against their rivals.

Having admitted his team lost the ‘scrap battle’, the ‘aerial battle’ and ‘I think Glasgow got the better of us at the breakdown as well’, Sean Everitt has his work cut out to produce a significant turnaround in front of around 37,000 expectant supporters this afternoon.

‘The guys are upbeat,’ insisted the head coach. ‘In sport, you get a second chance to make amends for what happened last week. The mistakes that we made on the pitch on Sunday are all fixable.

‘Playing at Murrayfield in front of our fans, it does bring energy to the squad and we were able to work really hard on the things that let us down against Glasgow on Sunday. You’ve got to look at how we gifted them those tries.

‘They do put you under pressure with their attack. But to concede line-breaks around the ruck is inexcusable from an individual point of view.’

Marshall Sykes and Pierre Schoeman have both been dropped to the bench partially as a result of picking up first-half yellow cards at Hampden, while Ewan Ashman is injured.

‘I’m sure the Edinburgh faithful will stay behind us,’ insisted Everitt. ‘They’ve not been streaming out of our stadium at the hour mark when things have gone badly. I’m sure they’ll have something to cheer about come the 80th minute.’

And what secrets did Mosese unearth over Christmas dinner?

‘I’m quite ethical in that regard so I wouldn’t listen to too much about it,’ added Everitt. ‘And if they were having some intel conversations, I’m sure that would be a lot of nonsense anyway!’

Edinburgh v Glasgow, Saturday, 3pm, Murrayfield. Live on Premier Sports 1