Hampden will host Scottish club rugby’s biggest fixture for the first time this year when Glasgow and Edinburgh clash in the 1872 Cup at the home of Scottish football. The opening leg of the annual festive double header between the URC rivals will take place on Sunday, December 22.
It will be the first time Glasgow’s professional history that they will run out at the national stadium. And Warriors managing director Al Kellock has urged the club’s supporters to pack Hampden and bring the roar. Kellock said: “This is a massive moment in the history of not just our club, but rugby within our city and our Glasgow Warriors community.
“To be able to take one of our biggest games of the season to one of Scotland’s national stadia is a reflection of the journey that we have been on as a club, as we continue to grow the game in our city, the west of Scotland and Caledonia regions. It’s a journey that has seen the Warrior Nation follow us through thick and thin; from the club grounds across Scotland that shape our Warriors, to the high veldt in Pretoria where we became URC champions. To be able to take this fixture to Hampden is a reflection of the support upon which this club is built, and we know that our supporters will make Hampden an atmosphere unlike any other.
“We’re excited by the opportunity this fixture presents, not only on the field but off it as well – we also hope to welcome a new audience that may otherwise not attend a Glasgow Warriors match, especially in the run-up to the festive holidays.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved in making this fixture happen, from our friends at the Scottish FA, Scottish Rugby, United Rugby Championship and Premier Sports, to the efforts of everyone involved at Scotstoun.
“Our ask to the Warrior Nation is to now make this as big an occasion as we possibly can – I firmly believe that we have earned the opportunity through our performances over the last season, to show our club, our values and our players to a new audience on one of Scotland’s biggest stages. We know that Glasgow is not just a football city – let’s show that to the world.”
Warriors are looking to defend the cup which they have won 10 times while Edinburgh are gunning for an eighth win. And captain Kyle Steyn added: “It’s such an exciting opportunity – derby matches are already the type of fixture that you want to be involved in as a player, so to have the chance to run out at an iconic Glasgow venue is extremely special.
“Having our own ‘big game’ concept is an outstanding reflection of the support that this club has year in, year out – they get behind us wherever we are, and they give us that extra edge time and again. We know that 1872 Cup atmospheres are always electric, and I can’t wait to see and hear the buzz that the Warrior Nation will create at Hampden.”