There may have been troubles in 2007, but at least Scottish rugby is leaving the year in an optimistic mood. The final action of the year produced loads of reasons for believing that at long last the professional game is about to deliver the kind of enthusiasm and quality that rivals take for granted.

The weekend’s derby clash, with Edinburgh squeaking through 35-31 against Glasgow after losing the lead five minutes from time, but conjuring up a magnificent try from the last-but-one play of the game, must have sent every one of the record crowd of 6,225 home feeling cheerful about the quality of fare they had witnessed.

For all that, the crowd figure itself was probably the most significant statistic. Not only was it Edinburgh’s biggest league gate, eclipsing the official attendance of 5,410 at the launch of the Celtic League competition in 2001, a time when published attendances were routinely massaged upwards, but it was not that far from double the 3,453 average since these derby games became incorporated into the league programme.

Stranger still, the previous biggest league gate at Edinburgh this season was 1,638 and at Glasgow was 2,631, so that even if every single person at those matches - and both figures include Irish travelling fans - made it to Murrayfield, there were still 2,000 getting their first experience of Scottish professional rugby.

It was not lost on the coaches either. “An unbelievable figure,” was the reaction of Sean Lineen, the Glasgow coach. “You saw two teams that served up a cracking game, teams with genuine ambition. There are still a lot of knockers of the professional game and the guys were so focused on winning. But the crowd, I’m elated.”

Andy Robinson, the Edinburgh coach, was similarly delighted: “It was a tremendous game of rugby,” he said. “As an advert for the game of rugby and the quality of play despite the weather conditions it was top drawer, real quality. It was great for Scottish rugby, it showed there is the talent there. Let’s hope that in 2008 both teams keep improving and the crowds keep improving like this.”

The only downside to the night was that the number caught the Edinburgh club administration completely by surprise – their most optimistic prediction had been that they might make 5,000 - so there were problems with parking and getting everybody into the ground, so that some fans missed the start of the game.

It was also a match that will have given Frank Hadden, the national coach, a few things to think about before he names the squad that will start official RBS Six Nations Championship training in a fortnight. Nick De Luca, the centre, made a few mistakes but he cannot do without the flair that created the winning try for Ben Cairns, another who is making a case for elevation to the national squad.

Elsewhere, it was pretty even with the Scotland contenders, though Phil Godman came out ahead in his fly half head to head with Dan Parks, and the turnover that launched his team’s comeback was enough to give John Barclay the edge in the flanker battle with Ross Rennie.