Fourteen-man Edinburgh stun Glasgow, Connacht and Benetton win derbies

Chris Dean’s last-gasp try ended Glasgow Warriors’ 100 per cent Pro14 record as Edinburgh snatched a dramatic 18-17 win despite Simon Berghan’s early red card, while Connacht and Benetton Treviso also claimed derby victories on Saturday.

It was looking bleak for Edinburgh in the first leg of the 1872 Cup when Berghan was dismissed only six minutes in after the prop was deemed to be guilty of a stamp at the breakdown.

Glasgow were already leading at that point courtesy of an early try from Huw Jones, which Ruaridh Jackson converted, and were 7-3 up at the end of a lacklustre first half after Sam Hidalgo-Clyne got the home side on the board with a penalty.

Conference A leaders Glasgow were 17-6 to the good when Scott Cummings raced over 15 minutes into the second half and looked set to make it 11 Pro14 wins out of 11 following back-to-back losses against Montpellier, which left them facing a European Champions Cup exit.

Yet Edinburgh came storming back despite being a man down, Nathan Fowles scoring their first try 19 minutes from time before the final twist when Dean powered his way over in the corner to win, to the delight of the majority of a record 1872 Cup crowd of 23,833.

? | So.. caught your breath yet?

An unbelievable shift from the entire squad this evening. Stay tuned for further reaction to this evening's epic #1872Cup victory. pic.twitter.com/DqcHcFbR5a

— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) December 23, 2017

Connacht hammered Ulster 44-16 at the Sportsground, where Ultan Dillane scored two of six tries for the 2016 Pro12 champions.

Eoghan Masterson, Bundee Aki, Tiernan O’Halloran and Jarrad Butler were the other try-scorers for Connacht as Ulster suffered only a third Pro14 loss and the home side went fourth in Conference A.

Angelo Esposito scored a try in each half for a Benetton side that saw off Zebre 27-14 at the Stadio Monigo.

Zebre had flanker Johan Meyer sent off in the second half as they slipped to a eighth defeat of the Pro14 campaign.