SCOTLAND 1871 VINTAGE RUGBY SHIRT – AWAY

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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 very first rugby international when a side representing England met the Scottish national side on the cricket field of the Edinburgh Academy at their Raeburn Place ground on 27 March 1871; Scotland won by one goal.

The Scottish Football Union (SFU) – later named SRU – was founded in 1873 (in the Staff Common Room at The Glasgow Academy) and was a founding member of the International Rugby Board in 1886 with Ireland and Wales. (England refused to join until 1890). Eight clubs were represented at the foundation; Glasgow Academicals, Edinburgh Academical Football Club, West of Scotland F.C., University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club, Royal High School FP, Merchistonians, Edinburgh University RFC and Glasgow University. Five of these clubs were already members of the previously instituted Rugby Football Union.

Although the RFU now represents exclusively English clubs, in its first few years it had members from outside England, there being no other national union. West of Scotland, Glasgow Academicals and Edinburgh University had joined the RFU in 1871 and Edinburgh Academicals and Royal High School FP had joined in 1872. These five renounced their membership of the RFU to join the SFU.

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 rugby sevens, which were initially conceived by Ned Haig, a butcher from Melrose as a fundraising event for his local club 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.

In 1924 the SFU changed its name to the Scottish Rugby Union. International games were played at Inverleith from 1899 to 1925 when Murrayfield was opened.