Glasgow hooker believes Simon Berghan kick was an accident

Glasgow hooker Fraser Brown has defended Simon Berghan in the wake of the prop's trampling offence which resulted in a red card and will be considered by a Guinness Pro14 disciplinary panel tomorrow.

Simon Berghan heads to the tunnel after being shown a red card

The Edinburgh tighthead visibly made contact with his boot on the head of his fellow Scotland international front-row forward in the opening five minutes of Saturday’s first 1872 Cup clash, which ended in a dramatic 18-17 win for the home side at BT Murrayfield.

When Irish referee Frank Murphy flashed the red card with Edinburgh already 7-0 down after an early Huw Jones try it could well have finished the match as a contest there and then but a tremendously spirited response from Richard Cockerill’s 14-man side ended in a stunning win when substitute centre Chris Dean’s last-gasp try opened up a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Berghan will face an all-Irish panel by video call tomorrow when he will almost certainly be handed a ban and, for starters, be ruled out of this Saturday afternoon’s return clash at Scotstoun.

Victim Brown had no axe to grind over the incident, though.

“It was just one of those things, I think it was an accident,” said the Warriors hooker. “I spoke to Bergs afterwards, it was not malicious. It looks so innocuous, it is one of these that can catch you out. I think he has seen my back and has gone to put his foot on my back in good-natured fun and caught my head. There was nothing in it, you just have to be so careful with boots in rucks. These days safety is so paramount in the game, it is headline stuff.

“It was just one of those things, unfortunate for Simon but. . .”

That hanging ‘but’ reflects the fact that it was a clear red card, as Cockerill acknowledged after the game, and a suspension will follow.