Rugby union in Scotland in its modern form has existed since the mid-19th century. Scotland has one of the oldest rugby union traditions and has introduced various innovations including rugby sevens.

As with the history of rugby union itself however, it emerged from older traditional forms of football which preceded the codification of the sport. In the same manner as rugby union in England, rugby union in Scotland would grow at a significant rate to the point where Scotland played England in the first ever rugby union international in 1871, a match which was won by the Scottish team.

In 1883, Scotland would become a founding member of the annual Home Nations Championship with England, Wales and Ireland, (now the Six Nations Championship with the inclusion of France and Italy), and since its creation in 1987 have competed in every Rugby World Cup. Scotland took part in co-hosting the 1991 Rugby World Cup, alongside the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. The governing body of rugby union in Scotland, Scottish Rugby Union, is the second oldest organisation of its kind, having been founded in 1873.

Early history

Earliest rugby games Until the mid-nineteenth century the distinction between rugby football and association football (soccer) did not exist in Scotland so both codes share the same history.

There is a long tradition of "football" games in Scotland, and many of these such as Jeddart Ba' bear more resemblance to rugby than association football, since passing and carrying by hand play a large part in them.

The Kirkwall Ba game still takes place, and involves scrummaging. Scottish soccer enthusiasts also cite these games as ancestral to their sport, despite their greater similarity to rugby.

Unregulated School rugby Several new schools were formed in Scotland during the first half of the 19th century, among them The Edinburgh Academy (1824), Loretto (1827), Merchiston (1833), Glasgow Academy (1845) and Trinity College, Glenalmond (1847). It is known that unregulated forms of football were played at all of these schools, but it was in Edinburgh that the handling game first took root and spread to other areas of the country.

Codified rugby comes to Scotland

Edinburgh Academy and the Crombies Two young men, Francis Crombie and Alexander Crombie, came from Durham School to Edinburgh in 1854. Francis joined the academy as a pupil, but Alexander had already left school. Apparently, the boys brought the knowledge of football from Durham School, and this they passed on. Francis is recorded as having been the first school football captain, and Alexander became actively involved in the formation of The Edinburgh Academical Football Club. He qualified for membership under a rule that allowed relatives of school pupils to become members. In 1858, he became the first captain of the Football Club - a position he held for eight years.

The High School in Edinburgh and Hamilton During the same period, a boy named Hamilton came to the High School in Edinburgh (in 1856) from an English private school and brought with him the 'Rules of Rugby Football' as he had known them from south of the Border. This document was instrumental in the High School's adaptation of their existing game to this new form.

First ever Schools match The first-ever inter-school match recorded in Scotland was Royal High School versus Merchiston (in Edinburgh), played on 13 February 1858. However, the game suffered from a lack of uniformity of rule and the ball.

Standardisation of rules In the High School, in the early 1860s, football was played with '...monstrous inflated globes of vast circumference and ponderosity...'.

H. H. Almond, a master at both Loretto and Merchiston, and a founding father of the game in Scotland, describing an incident in a Loretto versus Merchiston match, wrote: '...but so little did any of us, masters or boys, then know about it, that I remember how, when Lyall ran with the ball behind the Merchiston goal the resulting try was appealed against on the ground that no player may cross the line whilst holding the ball. The previous rule at Merchiston had been that he must let go of the ball and kick it over before he touched it down. It must be said in excuse for this and other similar sins of ignorance that the only available rules were those printed for the use of Rugby School. They were very incomplete and presupposed a practical knowledge of the game.'

Disputes Gradually, over several years, the game approached that then being played at Rugby. There were local variations which, inevitably, resulted in disputes.

H.H. Almond: 'Well into the 1870s, the only schools able to play each other on even terms were The Edinburgh Academy, Merchiston, and The High School.'

From the mid-1860s, senior (former pupils) clubs started to appear in both the Edinburgh and Glasgow areas, and these clubs, making good use of the then-new railways, began to play each other. In those early club matches, play was often halted whilst captains and umpires tried to settle some point of difference. Such disputes and mix-ups were frequent.

Such a state of affairs could not continue indefinitely, and a group of men from The Edinburgh Academical Football Club convened a series of meetings and, in 1868, with the agreement of the other schools and clubs, set out and had printed rules for the game in Scotland.

The Green Book The resulting booklet, Laws of Football as played by the Principal Clubs in Scotland, became known as The Green Book. Alas, no copy survives, but it is worthy of note that neither the clubs nor The Green Book felt it necessary to include the word 'Rugby' in their title. Indeed, the Scottish Football Union, formed in 1873, did not alter its name to become the Scottish Rugby Union until 1924 - the year prior to the opening of Murrayfield.

Oldest continual fixture The world's oldest continual rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of The Edinburgh Academy, although the 'Edinburgh Courant' journal of Jan 1858 describes a Rugby Football match of December 1857 between sides representing 'The university' (Edinburgh) and 'The Academical Club' (Edinburgh Academicals FC).

1871 to 1924 The first ever international

The first international rugby football game resulted from a challenge issued in the sporting weekly Bell's Weekly on 8 December 1870 and signed by the captains of five Scottish clubs, inviting any team "selected from the whole of England" to a 20-a-side game to be played under the Rugby rules. The notice itself was inconspicuous, being slotted in between other items.The Scotsman, 27.3.1871

The team representing England was captained by Frederick Stokes of Blackheath, that representing Scotland was led by Francis Moncrieff; the umpire was Hely Hutchinson Almond, headmaster of Loretto College. England played in all white, with a red rose on their shirts; Scotland wore brown shirts and white cricket flannels with a thistle.Glasgow Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), Tuesday, 28 March 1871; Issue 9746

The game was played at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, the home ground of Edinburgh Academicals, on 27 March 1871.A window on sporting history: the first rugby match, Scotland v England in 1871, Andy Mitchell, Scottish Sport History, 10 August 2019 The game, played over two halves of 50 minutes between 20-a-side, was won by Scotland, who scored a goal (a try followed by a successful conversion kick). Both sides also scored a try, but these did not count as the conversion kicks were missed. Angus Buchanan scored the try (the first in international rugby), and William Cross converted it. A points scoring system had not then been devised.

In a return match at the Kennington Oval, London, in 1872, England were the winners.library, Scottish Rugby Union

This is not only the first international rugby match but the first international of any form of football because, despite the fact that three England v Scotland fixtures had already been played according to association football rules in 1870 and 1871, these are not considered full internationals by FIFA as the players competing in the Scotland team were London-based players who claimed a Scottish family connection rather than being truly Scottish players.

First Provincial match The first provincial rugby football match in the world was played on 23 November 1872 in Scotland. This was between Glasgow District and Edinburgh District and played at the Burnbank ground in Woodlands, Glasgow. Edinburgh won the match 3–0 in a 20-a-side fixture.

This match became known as the 'Inter-City'. The Glasgow - Edinburgh match is still played today between the now professional provincial sides. Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby compete for the 1872 Cup in recognition of the first Inter-City fixture.

Origins of the SRU

The "Scottish Football Union" (SFU) was founded in 1873.

The Calcutta Cup

The Calcutta Cup was gifted to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club. The members had decided to disband: the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees, which became available when the club's funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for annually only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879, and, since that time, over 100 matches have taken place.

Scotland has won the Calcutta Cup 39 times. They compete in the Six Nations Championship and have never won it; however, they did win the last 5 Nations Championship in 1999, narrowly missing out on a grand slam. Scotland has participated in every Rugby World Cup tournament.

International Rugby Board

The SFU was a founder member of the International Rugby Board in 1886, along with Ireland and Wales.

Left: The minutes of the first formal meeting of the IRFB, from a meeting attended by Lyle and McAlistair of Ireland, Carrick and Gardner of Scotland, Mullock and Lyne of Wales.

England belatedly joined the Board in 1890. Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became a member in 1978, and a further eighty members joined from 1987 to 1999.

The International Rugby Board is now known as World Rugby and oversees the administration of the sport.

World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cups.

Late 19th and early 20th Centuries

In 1897, land was purchased by the SFU at Inverleith, Edinburgh. Thus, the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899 (Scotland 3 Ireland 9).

The Scots enjoyed periodic success in the early days, vying with Wales in the first decade of the 20th century. However, their Triple Crown win in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War (1914–18) and England intervened to deny them glory.

In 1924, the SFU changed its name to become the Scottish Rugby Union.

International rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SRU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium, which was opened on 21 March 1925.

Invention of Rugby Sevens

Scotland has played a seminal role in the development of rugby, notably in Rugby sevens, which were initially conceived by Ned Haig, a butcher from Jedburgh, Scotland, as a fundraising event for his local club, Melrose, in 1883. The first ever officially sanctioned international tournament of rugby occurred at Murrayfield as part of the "Scottish Rugby Union's celebration of rugby" centenary celebrations in 1973. Due to the success of the format, the ongoing Hong Kong Sevens was launched three years later. In 1993, the Rugby World Cup Sevens was launched, and the trophy is known as the Melrose Cup in memory of Ned Haig's invention.

Union-League schism