Head coach Sean Everitt says United Rugby Championship points rather than bragging rights are the key motivation for Edinburgh heading into the festive double-header against Glasgow Warriors.
The sides meet at Hampden Park on Saturday before the return leg at Murrayfield on 27 December.
Warriors are coming off a stunning Champions Cup victory over Toulouse, while Edinburgh were thrashed by Castres in France.
“We need points and that becomes before the bragging rights. The bragging rights are a bonus,” Everitt said.
“It’s a URC competition and we know how tight these logs are. So any points that you pick up away from home are valuable to us.
“At the same time, we do want to win the 1872 Cup. There’s a lot of history behind it as we know. It will be great for the boys to go into camp in the Six Nations having the 1872 Cup in our team room.”
Glasgow have won the 1872 Cup in the past three seasons, with last term’s 33-14 win at Hampden setting them up for an aggregate victory despite losing to Edinburgh at Murrayfield the following week.
Everitt admits his side underperformed on their last visit to the national football stadium and hopes Edinburgh can have a more positive experience this time around.
“Hampden last year was not good memories for us,” said the South African.
“It was the first time (club) rugby games were being played there, so we obviously wanted to make it a little bit more difficult for Glasgow.
“We got a few things wrong, but we delivered at home and made it 1-1. We need URC points away from home. The guys know what’s coming and it’s time for us to deliver and not talk about it.”
