Edinburgh Monarchs are cooking after Scottish derby delight
The Edinburgh Monarchs rounded off an incredible 24 hours with a thrilling derby victory over arch rivals the Glasgow Tigers.
Following a 57-33 triumph over the Redcar Bears in the Championship on Friday, the Monarchs edged out their hosts - and current holders - 48-42 in the first leg of the Scottish Cup on Saturday night.
It's the second time the Capital side have tasted victory at Ashfield this season having won 49-41 in their BSN Series fixture in early May.
Skipper Paco Castagna was unavailable due to his Italian Championship commitments, but Workington’s Tate Zischke proved more than an able deputy, the young Australian involved in some enthralling battles as he contributed nine to the cause.
Monarchs big-hitters Dan Thompson and Kye Thomson shared six heat wins between them with reserve Mitch Cluff also chipping in with a healthy nine points.
The Thompson and Thomson partnership is really coming to the fore and delivering where it counts, the duo combining for crucial 4-2s in both heats 13 and 15 at Ashfield, although there was some drama in the final heat of the evening when race winner Thomson lost his steel shoe as he raced around the boards.
The 27-year-old said afterwards: "Everyone done a fantastic job - we left off from Friday night. Everyone was keen, we really wanted to win. It was kind of similar to the last time we were here, we knew what to do and what to expect, so it was awesome to finish off again with a heat advantage in heat 15. It wasn't easy, I think I've pulled my hamstring trying to keep my foot off the ground as my steel shoe was dangling, so it wasn't smooth or pretty, but it's job done."