Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh called off 15 minutes before kick-off

Glasgow's Zander Fagerson, left, and Ross Thompson play football on the Scotstoun pitch after the Guinness Pro14 match against Edinburgh was postponed. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

The side were due to meet at Scotstoun in a match that doubles up as the second leg of the inter-city 1872 Cup.

But the decision was made to postpone the game because parts of the pitch were deemed to be dangerous due to the freezing conditions.

The surface at Scotstoun is artificial but was still frozen in parts.

No new date for the fixture has been announced as yet.

Edinburgh won the first leg 10-7 last weekend and a win would have seen them retain the 1872 Cup. Their coach, Richard Cockerill, said: “It is disappointing. We have two teams who want to play. But the pitch is hard and the guys have tried to scrummage and there is no purchase at all. They are slipping straight on their faces. You are asking experienced front row forwards and they say you can’t scrummage on it so you can’t play on it.

“It is disappointing. It’s a shame it got to this point. But player safety is paramount.

“It was cold all day and it was going to get colder as the night went on. It’s an all-weather pitch so I’m not quite sure how that works.

Coaches, captains and match officials discuss the state of the Scotstoun pitch before the Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh match was called off. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

“It’s no one’s fault. You would have preferred it to be looked at earlier and we don’t get to this point for everyone’s sake.

“We will get back to Murrayfield, go home and see what the Pro14 do about rescheduling this game.

“It has been a messy season. This is just another spanner in the works I suppose.”

The pitch is treated ahead of kick off but it was to no avail as Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh at Scotstoun was called off. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

His Glasgow counterpart Danny Wilson said: “The boys have got to the stage of doing some scrums out there and it won’t hold a stud. So it’s not safe to play on - that’s the verdict, if you like. In this season, it’s one of many things that have surprised us.”

Wilson said the pitch had been worked on all day. “The thing is, as you get closer to kick-off it’s getting colder and colder, and there’s that risk of whether the pitch is up to it,” he said. “At lunchtime it was absolutely fine.

“It’s frustrating for everybody. We all want to play the game as scheduled, unfortunately that’s not going to be the case, now we have to wait and see.”

In a statement, Pro14 Rugby said: “After a pre-match inspection by referee Mike Adamson, the playing surface was deemed unsafe for the game to take place without causing a risk to the players and match officials.

“Pro14 Rugby will immediately begin to identify a new date to play this fixture.”

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