London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is currently playing in the third tier of the English rugby union system, National League 1 following their relegation from Champ Rugby in season 2025–26. London Scottish share the Athletic Ground with Richmond.
History Founding
In early 1878, three Scottish members of a team called St. Andrew's Rovers FC decided to break away to form their own club for Scots. These men, George Grant, Neil Macglashan and Robert Arnot attracted a number of responses to a circular they sent out. The London Scottish Regiment in particular were very warm to the idea. Very soon after, on 10 April 1878, London Scottish FC was foundedBath, 1997, pp86,87 in The Queen's Head, in Water Lane, Blackfriars, London (universally known as MacKay's Tavern, frequently mis-recorded, as Ned Mackay the jovial Scottish landlord ran the pub), initially played on Blackheath Common,Dick Tyson, London's Oldest Rugby Clubs, p96 (JJG Publishing), 2008 and later at Richmond Athletic Ground in Surrey.
They had a sizable fixture list and played some of the leading clubs of the time immediately, such as Ravenscourt Park Football Club and Queen's House Football Club (the latter being the only London team to have never lost to London Scottish). They also played St Andrew's Rovers that season. St Andrew's, who had lost the core of their best players, lost twice to London Scottish and folded at the end of the season. London Scottish had a very successful first season, and having played 15 matches they only lost four (against already well established sides, Flamingoes, Guy's Hospital, Queen's House and Wasps).
In 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War all sixty members of the four London Scottish teams who played in their last matches in April enlisted. Fifteen survived. Only one played Rugby again. They are commemorated in Mick Imlah's poem "London Scottish".
Early history
London Scottish was the first of the "Exiles" rugby clubs to be founded, and the last of the main three – after London Irish and London Welsh – to go "open" in 1996.
London Scottish made the John Player Cup Final in 1974, where they lost 26–6 against defending champions Coventry.
The club regularly featured at the Middlesex Sevens tournament, winning the trophy in 1937, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1991. They have won the Melrose Sevens three times, in 1962, 1965 and 2019.
Professional era (1996–2020) Scottish turned professional in 1996. Tony Tiarks bought the club for £500,000 in 1996.
In the summer of 1998 Scottish, co-tenants of Richmond at the Athletic Ground, were promoted to the top division via a play-off, and Tiarks forced through an ill-fated groundshare with Harlequins and London Broncos at the Stoop Memorial Ground.
In the 1998–99 season, Scottish made their only appearance in the English Premiership. Under coach John Steele, and despite limited resources, the team finished 12th out of 14 teams, which would have saved them from relegation had they not fallen into administration at the season's end. Notable wins that season included: versus Bath (13–11), Saracens (24–7) and Newcastle Falcons (27–17). That season's squad included Scottish international stars Ronnie Eriksson, Simon Holmes and Derrick Lee, Australians Seán Childs, Simon Fenn and Eddie Jones, and the South African Jannie de Beer.
Midway through the 1998–1999 season, Tiarks became disillusioned and discussed selling Scottish's place in the Premiership to second-division Bristol. He bailed out in the summer of 1999. The professional club London Scottish Rugby was placed into administration in 1999 and nominally merged into London Irish (who moved their games to the Stoop) along with Richmond, who were also placed into administration.
The original amateur club rejoined the RFU leagues at the bottom of the pyramid after effectively having been relegated nine divisions by the RFU. The club progressed back up through seven divisions in 10 seasons to RFU Championship for the 2011–12 season.
The club was promoted to the English National leagues (National Division Three South) for the 2007–08 season after an eight-year absence. The club was unbeaten in the 2008–09 season, earning promotion to the revamped RFU National 1 Division for the 2009–10 season. In 2009–10, the club finished second in their first season in RFU National 1 Division.
The club secured promotion to the RFU Championship for the 2011–12 season. During the 2012–13 season, the club made the switch to a full-time professional set-up, with many of the club's part-time professional players leaving and new coaches brought on board, this included former Leicester Tigers hooker James Buckland and France and London Wasps legend Serge Betsen. The fully professional set-up was credited for an impressive performance away to Championship leaders Newcastle Falcons, where three penalties brought them to the brink of a shock win, but they lost 12–9. There followed significant wins in the second half of the season, including a 26–23 victory over Bedford Blues, a 25–13 win over Nottingham and a 20–17 win away at Cornish Pirates. Scottish were still challenging for a place in the top four of the Championship until as late as March, when they were beaten by Leeds Carnegie, and they ended the season in mid-table.
The Scottish again finished mid-table in the Championship in the 2013–14 season. The team had four players named in the Championship Best XV – American international Eric Fry, Tomas Francis, Mark Bright and Championship top try-scorer Miles Mantella.
Following a mediocre 2016–17 campaign, the club appointed Loughborough Students director of rugby Dave Morris as director of rugby and the club saw a change at the top, with Malcom Offord becoming chairman of the club and Carson Russell as CEO.
Semi-professional club (2021–) Following a reduction in funding from the RFU, Scottish adopted a semi-professional model from the 2020–21 season, with players and coaches being employed part-time. Following this, in February 2021 it was confirmed that due to funding cuts and the costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic Scottish would not take part in the upcoming season.
Scottish were to leave the Athletic Ground after 127 years, with the first team temporarily relocating to Esher's rugby ground in Hersham and the rest of the club also seeking relocation. However it was later confirmed they would remain at the Athletic Ground for their return to the Championship in the 2021–22 season.
Sevens London Scottish have been great exponents of rugby sevens, winning the Melrose Sevens three times, Middlesex Sevens seven times and the Rosslyn Park London Floodlit Sevens seven times.
Captains and league position (since 1999–2000) Season Division Captain Position1999–00 Non League (London Senior Clubs) Ewan Kearney Winners of Merit table2000–01 Herts/Middlesex 1 Damian Lilley Runner-up 2001–02 London 4 NW Steven Wichary Champions 2002–03 London 3 NW Magnus Macdonald Champions 2003–04 London 2 NorthDavid Watt Champions2004–05 London 1Karl Hensley 4th 2005–06 London 1Karl Hensley 3rd 2006–07 London 1Alex Alesbrook Champions 2007–08 National Division Three SouthAlex Alesbrook 4th National 2008–09 National Division Three SouthGary Trueman Champions 2009–10 National League OneGary Trueman 2nd 2010–11 National League OneIan McInroy Champions 2011–12 The ChampionshipLewis Calder 9th 2012–13 The Championship Mark Bright 8th 2013–14 The Championship Mark Bright 5th 2014–15 The Championship Mark Bright 3rd 2015–16 The Championship Mark Bright 8th 2016–17 The Championship Rory Bartle 7th 2017–18 The Championship Lewis Wynne 11th 2018–19 The Championship Mark Bright 9th 2019–20 The Championship Chris Dean 11th 2020–21 Did not compete due to COVID-19 pandemic - -2021–22 The Championship Brian Tuilagi 11th 2022–23 The Championship Joe Rees 11th 2023–24 The Championship -
Head coach and management (since 1999–2000) Season Division Head coach Manager 1999–00 Non League Iain Morrison Colin McIntyre 2000–01 Herts/Middlesex 1 Brett Cookson Colin McIntyre2001–02 London 4 NW Kevin Powderly Colin Mcintyre 2002–03 London 3 NW Kevin Powderly Colin McIntyre 2003–04 London 2 North Rick Scott Colin McIntyre 2004–05 London 1 Rowly Williams Colin McIntyre2005–06 London 1 Rowly Williams Colin McIntyre 2006–07 London 1 Terry O'Connor Colin McIntyre 2007–08 National Division Three South Terry O'Connor Colin McIntyre 2008–09 National Division Three South Brett Taylor Colin McIntyre2009–10 National League OneBrett Taylor Colin McIntyre 2010–11 National League One Simon Amor Colin McIntyre 2011–12 The ChampionshipSimon Amor Ross Macgregor 2012–13 The ChampionshipSimon Amor Ross Macgregor 2013–14 The ChampionshipSimon Amor Laurence Bruggemann
Overall league statistics Season Division Played Won Draw Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff Points 1987–88 National League 2 11 4 1 6 141 158 –17 9 7th 1988–89 National League 2 11 3 1 7 146 160 –16 7 11th 1989–90 National League 3 11 11 0 0 258 92 166 22 1st 1990–91 National League 2 12 7 0 5 240 178 62 14 5th 1991–92 National League 2 12 11 0 1 304 130 174 22 1st 1992–93 Premiership 12 3 1 8 192 248 –56 7 10th 1993–94 National League 2 18 6 0 12 232 325 –93 12 8th1999–00 Non-league 26 19 1 6 775 341 434 1st2000–01 Herts/Middlesex 1 18 17 0 1 554 118 436 34 2nd2001–02 London 4 NW 18 14 0 4 533 214 319 28 1st2002–03 London 3 NW18 16 0 2 560 199 361 32 1st2003–04 London 2 North22 20 1 1 752 277 475 41 1st2004–05 London 122 15 0 7 676 343 333 30 4th2005–06 London 122 16 1 5 840 324 516 33 3rd2006–07 London 122 20 0 2 997 235 762 40 1st2007–08 National Division Three South26 17 0 9 633 410 223 83 4th2008–09 National Division Three South26 25 1 0 1092 328 764 120 1st2009–10 National League One30 22 1 7 938 569 369 108 2nd2010–11 National League One30 27 0 3 958 516 442 132 1st2011–12 The Championship22 6 0 16 422 543 −121 34 9th2012–13 The Championship22 10 0 12 456 610 −154 45 8th
Honours London Scottish Melrose Sevens champions: 1962, 1965, 2019 Hawick Sevens champions: 1965 Kelso Sevens champions: 1991 Ross Sutherland Sevens champions: 1990 Glasgow Academicals Sevens champions: 1979, 1989 Haig Trophy Sevens champions: 1980 Stirling Sevens champions: 1988 Middlesex Sevens champions: 1937, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1991 Courage League Division 3 champions: 1989–90 Courage League National Division 2 champions: 1991–92 London Division 4 North West champions: 2001–02 London Division 3 North West champions: 2002–03 London Division 2 North champions: 2003–04 London Division 1 champions: 2006–07 National League 3 South champions: 2008–09 National League 1 champions: 2010–11
London Scottish Lions (amateur side) Herts/Middlesex 2 champions: 2018–19
Current standings
Current squad
The London Scottish squad as announced for the 2025–26 season is:
Props
Hookers
Locks
Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
Centres
Wings
Fullbacks
Notable former players Scotland internationalists The following former London Scottish players have represented Scotland at full international level. London Scottish have produced more than 220 Scottish international players, more than any other club.
John Allan John Anderson David Bedell-Sivright John Bell William Berkley Alastair Biggar Mike Biggar Norman Bruce Paul Burnell, their most-capped player, who played 52 matches for Scotland (3 World Cups – 1991, 1995, 1999) George Campbell Mike Campbell-Lamerton Damian Cronin (2 World Cups – 1991, 1995) John Dykes Ronnie Eriksson Max Evans (1 World Cup – 2011) Frank Fasson Pringle Fisher Charles Fleming Iain Fullarton David Gilbert-Smith Colin Gilray Phil Godman Fraser Gore James Gowans Donald Grant John Hart Gavin Hastings (3 World Cups – 1987, 1991, 1995) Sandy Hinshelwood Simon Holmes William Holms John Hunter Doug Keller Ian Kilgour