Rugby union in Scotland
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Rugby union in Scotland | |
---|---|
Country | Scotland |
Governing body | Scottish Rugby Union |
National team(s) | Scotland |
First played | 1858, Edinburgh |
Registered players | 38,500 [1] |
Clubs | 143 full member clubs and an additional 135 associate member clubs[2] (system) |
National competitions | |
Edinburgh 7s | |
Club competitions | |
Rugby union in Scotland (
Governing body
The governing body of the game in Scotland is the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), who operate the Scottish national team.[4]
History
Early history
There is a long tradition of "football" games in Scotland, and many of these such as
There is evidence for schoolboys playing a "football" ball game in Aberdeen in 1633 (some references cite 1636) which is notable as an early allusion to what some[who?] have considered to be passing the ball. The word "pass" in the most recent translation is derived from "huc percute" (strike it here) and later repercute pilam (strike the ball again) in the original Latin. It is not certain that the ball was being struck between members of the same team. The original word translated as "goal" is metum, literally meaning the "pillar at each end of the circus course" in a Roman chariot race. There is a reference to "get hold of the ball before [another player] does" (Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere) suggesting that handling of the ball was allowed. One sentence states in the original 1930 translation "Throw yourself against him" (Age, objice te illi). It is clear that the game was rough and tackles allowed included the "charging" and pushing/holding of opposing players ("drive that man back" in the original translation, "repelle eum" in original Latin). It has been suggested[by whom?] that this game bears similarities to rugby football.
Contrary to media reports in 2006 there is no reference to forward passing, game rules, marking players or team formation. These reports described it as "an amazing new discovery" but has actually been well documented in football history literature since the early 20th century and available on the internet since at least 2000.[5]
1800s–present
The world's oldest continual rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of The Edinburgh Academy.
Scotland was responsible for organising the
. (England refused to join until 1890).Since that time, Scotland have been regular winners of the Calcutta Cup, the five nations championship (discontinued), and have been participants of (having never actually won) the Six Nations Championship, and every Rugby World Cup.
Scotland has played a seminal role in the development of rugby, notably in
In 1924 the SFU changed its name to the Scottish Rugby Union.[7] International games were played at Inverleith from 1899 to 1925 when Murrayfield was opened.
Competitions
- See also Scottish rugby union system
Historically rugby union was an amateur sport, but the dawn of professionalism changed the way in which the game was structured. The game is divided into professional and non-professional spheres.
Previously there had been a domestic league that covered the country, the top division of which was essentially the elite of club rugby in Scotland. This league was established in the early 1970s to replace the complicated "unofficial championship" that had been competed for previously. Starting in the 1973–74 season, the clubs were organised into a league of six divisions - what today comprises the
The entire system is sponsored by the
Clubs
Traditionally, rugby clubs were often formed by universities, ex-pupils of
- 'High School Former Pupils' (for instance, Dundee HSFP RFC)
- 'Former Pupils' (for instance, Stewart's Melville FP RFC)
- 'Grammar School Former Pupils' (for instance, Aberdeen GSFP RFC)
- 'University' (Aberdeen University Rugby Football ClubAURFC)
However, with the introduction of the league system in the 1970s and the resulting increase in competitiveness and standard of play, most of these clubs have had to loosen their participation criteria to include non ex-pupils. In most cases though the clubs squads do still comprise a large proportion of individuals with connections to the schools. Often the clubs will be part-financed, and their grounds maintained or even owned, by the schools themselves. In recent years the success of traditional 'Borders' league clubs such as Gala, Hawick etc were superimposed by the new breed of clubs such as Ayr RFC, Glasgow Hawks and Stirling County with Ayr securing three Premiership and Cup wins since 2008.
Amalgamations of clubs are also reasonably frequent, and when this occurs the clubs often combine names, as in Hillhead Jordanhill RFC or Waysiders/Drumpellier RFC.
Other leagues
Scotland is also home to the oldest organised rugby union league in the world,[citation needed] the Border League, which was formed in 1901. The Border League does not take part in the pyramid structure of the National League, but all its clubs participate in it (and thus the Border League is now effectively a supplementary competition). Two small 'independent' leagues remain outside the system, the Highland Alliance League and the Grampian Alliance League but they have only four clubs between them (the remaining membership being second XVs of clubs in the League Championship) and are not likely to remain in existence for much longer.
Aside from the schools, the other 'traditional powerhouse' of rugby in Scotland was the universities, and to this day the Scottish universities have their own
Due to the social and amateur nature of the game, most clubs try to run as many teams as possible so that players get games on most weekends, and therefore a large system of what are effectively
See
Changes for the professional era
When professionalism was introduced into rugby union in the 1990s, and the
Scotland has the oldest District provincial rugby sides in the world. The Glasgow - Edinburgh district derby was first played in 1872, hence the
The SRU decided to turn these standard Districts into four professional teams based roughly on the old districts: the
The aim of creating these 'pro-teams' or 'super-teams' was ensure that Scotland had fairly competitive sides operating in the European competitions, the
Initially the 'pro-teams' were still competing in the
From four teams to two
The four professional teams struggled in European competition and were a heavy financial burden for the union and for the formation of the
After a few[quantify] seasons with two teams, the SRU then reformed a Borders team, initially known as Border Reivers, then renamed The Borders, before reverting to Border Reivers again. At the time of this last change the other two sides were renamed Edinburgh Gunners and Glasgow Warriors. However, the SRU's extreme financial difficulties (they were over £20M in debt[citation needed]) forced yet another re-think (especially when the Border Reivers were rooted to the bottom of the Celtic League season after season) – at the end of season 2005–06, Edinburgh Gunners were sold to a private consortium led by Alex Carruthers, and renamed Edinburgh Rugby.
Continuing difficulties
However, even with the running costs of two instead of three teams, the SRU were still struggling. Attempts were made to find private backers for Glasgow or the Borders (although the only investors interested in the latter wanted to move it to Falkirk, Stirling or Aberdeen) but in the end neither of the teams could be sold. As a result, at the end of 2006–07 the SRU yet again disbanded the
The relationship with Alex Carruthers and his ERC Group which owned Edinburgh Rugby proved to be very uncomfortable. The SRU defaulted on payments of competition prize money to ERC, requiring the consortium to invest their own additional funds, and the SRU refused to share bar takings from Edinburgh Rugby matches at Murrayfield with ERC - at the same time, the SRU was unhappy about the signing policy and the unavailability of players for international team training.
Following a bitter dispute in the press and media during 2007, in which legal action was started, and for a time Edinburgh Rugby was banned from participating in matches, the SRU agreed to buy back Edinburgh Rugby from Alex Carruthers. This caused much unrest in the Scottish Borders, as their team had been wound up only months before, when the SRU insisted it could not finance two pro-teams on its own.
The SRU announced shortly after its buy-back that it intended to rename Edinburgh Rugby as Edinburgh RFC in the future.
From 2014–15. the Heineken Cup and original European Challenge Cup were respectively replaced by the
With Pro12 adding two South African teams in 2017–18, leading to that competition adopting its current name of Pro14, the qualification system for the Champions Cup was changed. Effective with the 2017–18 Pro14 season, the top three teams from each of Pro14's two conferences, excluding the South African sides, automatically qualify for the following season's Champions Cup. The previous requirement that each Celtic nation and Italy be represented in the Champions Cup was eliminated. A seventh place in the Champions Cup is awarded to the winner of a play-off between the next best-placed eligible team (again excluding South African sides) from each conference. As in the past, Scottish sides that do not qualify for the Champions Cup receive a place in the Challenge Cup.
Most recently, the SRU has invested in Major League Rugby, a fledgling professional league based in the United States. MLR launched in 2018 with seven teams in the United States, and expanded to nine in 2019 with the addition of single teams in the U.S. and Canada. The SRU purchased a minority stake in Washington, D.C.-based Old Glory DC, one of three U.S. teams set to join MLR in 2020.[8]
Popularity
Rugby union is one of the national sports of Scotland. It is most popular in the Borders region where it is played widely, although even here ground is being lost to football, with professionalism and migration contributing to the challenges facing the game .[9] In the rest of the country rugby tends to be played mainly by private schools.
Whilst attendances at club matches in Scotland are fairly poor, the national team draws a sizeable crowd to Murrayfield for Six Nations matches. Some traditionalists claim that in recent years the national rugby union team has become a focal point for football-type sporting nationalism.[9]
Aside from Murrayfield, there are few major rugby stadiums in Scotland. Many clubs in the Scottish Borders have grandstands and city sides in Edinburgh and Glasgow also have seated, covered stands.
Statistics
According to the
Demographics
Rugby union is particularly popular in the Borders region. The towns of Hawick, Galashiels, Jedburgh and Selkirk have produced many international players.
National team
The first international rugby union match in the world was played between England and Scotland in Edinburgh in 1871. Scotland won 4–1. The national side is considered by the IRB to belong in the top tier of nations, although they are not as competitive as the elite sides such as New Zealand or South Africa. They usually play their home matches at Murrayfield Stadium in the West End of Edinburgh.
Scotland contest the Calcutta Cup with England as part of the Six Nations Championship. The Calcutta Cup was last won by Scotland in the 2021 Six Nations Championship beating England 11-6.
Every four years the
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
The following rugby players have been inducted to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame:
- Finlay Calder
- Douglas Elliot
- Gavin Hastings
- Andy Irvine
- George MacPherson
- Mark Morrison
- David Sole
- Robert Wilson Shaw
- Grahame Budge
At least two other rugby players were inducted primarily for achievements in other sports—Eric Liddell in athletics, and Leslie Balfour-Melville (1854–1937), who played many other sports, as an all-rounder.
See also
- Sport in Scotland
- Sport in the United Kingdom
- Rugby union in the British Isles
- Rugby league in Scotland
Bibliography
- Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1)
- Richards, Huw A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union (ISBN 978-1-84596-255-5)
References
- ^ Scotland Archived 2012-12-28 at the Wayback Machine International Rugby Board
- ^ "The Structure of Rugby in Scotland | Sports Heritage Scotland".
- ^ "IRB Strategic Plan" (PDF). International Rugby Board. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF 0.3 MB) on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "About Scottish Rugby".
- ^ Marples, Morris A History of Football, Secker and Warburg, London 1954
- ^ A window on sporting history: the first rugby match, Scotland v England in 1871, Andy Mitchell, Scottish Sport History, 10 August 2019
- ^ MacDonald, Paul. "First Scottish Grand Slam". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
- ^ "Scottish Rugby take minority stake in new U.S. team". ESPN.com. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ a b Kelly (2008) Flowers of Scotland?: Rugby Union, National Identities and Class Distinction. Stadion: International Journal of the History of Sport, 34, 1: 83-99
External links
- Scottish Rugby Union Official site of Scottish Rugby
- Scotland International Rugby Board
- Guinness Pro14
- Glasgow Sevens Festival
- Rugby Scotsman.com
- Rugby Herald Scotland
- Rugby Press and Journal
- Scottish Rugby BBC Sport
- Rugby STV Sport