Scottish National Rugby Union Team

Scotland

Association	Scottish Rugby Union
Trainer	Gregor Townsend
captain	Stuart Hogg
WR abbreviation	SCO
WR rank	9. (79.06 points) (as of February 4, 2020)
home Away
Most international matches Ross Ford (110)
Most Points Scored Chris Paterson (809)
Most attempts scored Ian Smith , Tony Stanger (24)
First international match Scotland 4-1 England (27 March 1871; first international match worldwide)
Biggest win Scotland 100: 8 Japan (13 November 2004)
Biggest defeat Scotland 10:68 South Africa (December 6, 1997)
World Championship participations: 9/9 Best result: 4th place 1991

The Scottish National Rugby Union Team is the official Scottish national team in rugby union and represents the country in all international matches (" test matches ") of the men. The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) is responsible for the organization . Scotland is currently (June 2020) 8th in the world rugby rankings . The team participates in the annual Six Nations , along with England , France , Ireland , Italy and Wales . Scotland is also one of the countries whose players are eligible to play for the British and Irish Lions - players who play for Scotland may therefore also play for the Lions.

The team has its most important international appearances at the world championships that take place every four years . Scotland has participated in all nine tournaments since the Rugby Union World Cup was launched in 1987. The best result was achieved at the Rugby Union World Cup in 1991 , when Scotland lost the game for third place against the All Blacks .

Scotland's first test match took place in 1871, when England were beaten in the world's first international rugby match at Raeburn Place. Since the start of the previous Five and Six Nations tournament, the Home Nations Championship, in 1883, Scotland has won the tournament a total of 15 times - including the last Five Nations in 1999 - and shared the title nine times. Since Italy joined the tournament in 2000, which became the Six Nations, Scotland has not yet won a title. Right from the start there has been a strong rivalry between Scotland and its British neighbor England. Both teams play annually during the Six Nations for the Calcutta Cup , which was last received by England. In the memorable 2006 victory, Scotland beat England 18:12. However, England was able to bring the Calcutta Cup back in 2007. Scotland have beaten their rivals five times since 1990, most recently in 2018 and 2019.

Scotland traditionally plays in a dark blue jersey with white shorts and blue socks. Home games have been played at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh since 1925 . Especially at home games, the Scottish supporters, together with the traditional bagpipes, create their own atmosphere when they sing The Flower of Scotland . Nine former Scottish rugby players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame .

organization

→ Main article : Rugby Union in Scotland

The west stand of Murrayfield Stadium shows the popularity of Scottish rugby internationally

The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) is responsible for the organization of rugby union in Scotland . The SRU was founded in 1873 as the Scottish Football Union (SFU), making it the second oldest rugby union association after the English Rugby Football Union (RFU). In 1886, together with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), the SFU founded the International Rugby Board (IRB), now World Rugby. The Scottish Football Union was renamed the Scottish Rugby Union in 1924. The top rugby union league for Scotland is Pro14 , which includes 14 teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales, including two Scottish teams, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors . Among them is the Scottish Premiership , in which ten teams take part.

In addition to the actual national team, the SRU convenes other selection teams. Scotland A forms Scotland's second team. Like other rugby nations, Scotland has an U-20 national team that takes part in the relevant World Cups. Children and young people are introduced to the sport of rugby at school and, depending on their interests and talent, the training then begins. For schoolchildren there is the national schoolboys team , which has developed as a preliminary stage to the national team.

The international championship European Rugby Champions Cup , which is held together with teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, is superordinate to the national championship . Since the seasons overlap only a little, numerous players are used in both leagues.

The greatest honor for Scottish players is to go on tour with the British and Irish Lions in the southern hemisphere, where every couple of years they face either the " All Blacks " from New Zealand , the " Springboks " from South Africa or the " Wallabies " Australia enters.

history

Early years

The Scottish team before the first Test match against England in Edinburgh, 1871

Several new schools were established in Scotland in the first half of the 19th century, including the Edinburgh Academy (1824), Loretto School (1827), Merchiston Castle School (1833), The Glasgow Academy (1845) and Glenalmond College (1847). It is known that simple and crude forms of football were played in these schools. However, it was in Edinburgh that the handling game took root and spread to the rest of Scotland.

Two young brothers, Francis Crombie and Alexander Crombie, came to Edinburgh from Durham School in 1854. Francis enrolled at Glasgow Academy, but Alexander had already completed his school career. Apparently neither brother had played football at Durham School, but they brought their knowledge of the rules of how the game was played at rugby school with them to Scotland. Francis Crombie became the first captain of the football team and Alexander took over the founding of the football club at the Edinburgh Academy. He qualified for membership under the rule that allowed families of school children to become members. In 1858 he became the first captain of the football club - and remained so for eight years.

At about the same time (1856) another student, Hamilton, enrolled in Edinburgh High School after leaving an English private school bringing with him a copy of the " Rules of Football " as he learned about the sport in England . This document was instrumental in adapting sport in high school to the new form of play.

The first known game between two schools in Scotland took place on February 13, 1858 between the Royal High School and Merchiston. However, the game was played without uniform rules and balls, which made the game more difficult. However, over the years the rules of the rugby school have been adopted. Until then, there were various local variants of the game, which inevitably led to disputes during ongoing games. Until the late 1870s, only the Edinburgh Academy, Merchiston and the High School played a uniform variant of the game. From the mid-1860s, former students founded the first clubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The clubs used the same rules when playing against each other. In the early club games, play was regularly interrupted so that captains and referees could discuss differences in the rules.

However, this was not a permanent condition and the Edinburgh Academic Football Club organized several meetings and in 1868 the club, with the consent of other schools and clubs, compiled a uniform set of rules for the game in Scotland and had the rules printed. The rulebook, Laws of Football as played by the Principal Clubs in Scotland , became known as the "Green Book". The word "rugby" was not used in the title of the book and the Scottish Football Union , founded in 1873 , was not renamed the Scottish Rugby Union until 1924 .

Challenge to England

The first test match ever: England versus Scotland on March 28, 1871

In December 1870, after a series of football matches between England and Scotland in London , all won by England, several Scots published a challenge in Scotsman and London's Bell's Life inviting England to send a team to Scotland for a rugby match to play. The English found it difficult to ignore this challenge, which resulted in the first international rugby match on the Edinburgh Academy cricket ground, Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, on Monday March 27, 1871. This game was not only the first encounter between the two countries in any sport, but also the very first rugby international match ever. The Scots won the game in front of 4,000 spectators with a "goal" and an attempt against an attempt that the English were able to achieve. However, England was able to retaliate the following year in London's Kennington Oval and win 8: 3. These early games did not yet have a set of rules for points; this was not to be introduced until 1890 after a suitable format for the rating system was designed. Up until 1875 - as in the soccer test - matches were decided by the number of goals scored (raises and drop goals), but from 1876 the number of attempts made was used when a game was a draw. As was customary at the time, both teams consisted of 20 players, as the number of players per team was only reduced from 20 to 15 during a game in 1877. In 1877 Scotland played against Ireland for the first time and won with 6 goals to zero.

The Calcutta Cup

Game for the Calcutta Cup, 1890

Game for the Calcutta Cup, 1892

England versus Scotland, ca.1893

The Scottish Team, 1896

The Calcutta Cup was given to the Rugby Football Union by members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club in 1878 after the members decided to liquidate the club. The cup was made from molten silver rupees that became available upon the dissolution of the club when the club's assets were taken from the bank. The cup is unique in that only England and Scotland play for the trophy. The Calcutta Cup was first played in 1879 (the game ended in a draw, however) and 127 games have been played since then. England defeated Scotland in 1880 and won the first Calcutta Cup. England have won the Cup 71 times and Scotland 40 times, with 16 draws.

The Scots were temporarily successful in the early years and also played the first games against Wales at the beginning of the 20th century. The Triple Crown of 1907 after wins over England, Ireland and Wales should be, however, the last for 18 years after England was too strong. During the Five Nations in 1910 , Scotland played against France for the first time and won 27-0. During the Five Nations in 1911, Scotland was the first team to lose to France when they were just defeated by 15:16.

Foundation of the Home Nations Championship

In 1882, Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland founded the Home Nations Championship, the forerunner of today's Six Nations. During the Home Nations Championship in 1883 , Scotland played against Wales for the first time and won by 3 goals to 1. During the Home Nations Championship in 1890 , England and Scotland shared the title. The Scots were already successful in the early years, when they won the first Triple Crown in 1891 and could repeat this feat in 1895 , and at the beginning of the 20th century vied with Wales for dominance of the tournament. In 1901 , 1903 and 1907 Scotland scored additional triple crowns. Scotland's success in 1907 would be the last for 18 years after England dominated the tournament and the First World War (1914-1918) caused the tournament to be interrupted for several years.

Home stadium

In 1897 the SFU acquired land in Inverleith, Edinburgh. This made the SFU the first of the four Home Nations to have their own land. The first visiting team was Ireland on February 18, 1899 (Scotland 3-9 Ireland). On November 18, 1905, Scotland completed the first test match against the All Blacks in Inverleith, but lost 7:12. The first test match against the Springboks took place on November 17, 1906 in Glasgow's Hampden Park , when Scotland won 6-0; Scotland were the only team to beat the Springboks during their 1906/07 European tour. Up until 1925, international matches were played in Inverleith. The SFU acquired more land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium, which was inaugurated on March 21, 1925. In 1924, Scotland refused to play against New Zealand during the All Blacks' European tour, as the tour was organized by the English Rugby Football Union .

1925-1945

In 1925 , Scotland won over France in Inverleith (25: 4), Wales in Swansea (24:14) and Ireland in Dublin (14: 8). England, the Grand Slam winner of the previous two tournaments, was the first visiting team at Murrayfield Stadium. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change three times before Scotland won the game 14:11, which was the first time they won the Grand Slam .

In 1926 Scotland became the first Home Nations team to defeat England at London's Twickenham Stadium after England had won the Grand Slam in each of the eight previous tournaments. In 1927 Scotland played against the Wallabies for the first time and they won the test match at home at Murrayfield Stadium 10: 8.

The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 interrupted rugby play in Scotland, as in other countries. The SRU canceled all regular home and away games and encouraged the Scottish clubs to continue the sport as far as possible. However, some clubs were forced to close, while others banded together and continued to play against other Scottish clubs and occasionally against teams from the Allied troops present .

1946-1987

England versus Scotland in the 1959 Five Nations

During the 1946-47 season, international matches were held again, although these were not officially recognized. In January 1946 Scotland defeated a strong New Zealand Forces team 11-6. Scotland played test matches again from February 1947, but lost against Wales 8:22 at Murrayfield Stadium.

The period after World War II was not very successful for Scotland. In 1951, the touring Springboks defeated Scotland 44-0 after South Africa had nine attempts, a record victory at the time (according to modern counting it would have been a 62-0 victory). Scotland suffered 17 consecutive defeats between February 1951 and February 1957 and scored only 54 points in 17 games: 11 attempts, six drop goals and four penalties.

Between 1955 and 1963 Scotland achieved better results again. There was no victory over England, but you could wrest a difference in three games from the English. The Scots achieved several victories over Wales, Ireland and France. 1964 was a successful year for the Scots. New Zealand won a 0-0 draw, the last test match in which no points could be scored. The Calcutta Cup was received for the first time since 1950 after a 15: 6 victory over England and the Five Nations title was shared with Wales in 1964 . In 1965 the Springboks were beaten 8-5 at home in Edinburgh. In December 1966 they beat Australia 11-5 at home at Murrayfield Stadium, and in August 1968 they defeated the Wallabies again at home, this time 9-3. In 1969 the next home win against the Springboks was 6-3. In 1970, however, Australia clearly lost 3:23 in Sydney.

In 1971, after long hesitation, the SRU hired Bill Dickinson as national coach , since rugby was to remain an amateur sport after the Scottish Rugby Union . Therefore, his post was officially called "Team Captain's Advisor". They suffered a memorable loss to Wales during the 1971 Five Nations , after a last-minute attempt by Gerald Davies reduced Scotland's lead to 18:17 and winger John Taylor increased the attempt from the sideline, considered "the best raise." since Paul the Apostle “was designated and Scotland lost the Test Match 18:19.

The Five Nations tournament of 1972 had to end prematurely because of the Northern Ireland conflict, so there was no winner. After Bloody Sunday in Derry , the British embassy in Dublin was burned down by an angry mob and numerous players had received threatening letters, presumably from the IRA. Scotland and Wales refused to play for the upcoming away games in Ireland and justified this with the lack of security. The Five Nations 1973 ended tied between all five participating teams, a one-time result.

Scotland was the first of the four Home Nations to have their own club league. The Scottish Premiership was founded in 1973 and is still played today; several of the clubs founded in the early years still take part in the championship today, including Heriots , West of Scotland , Watsonians and the well-known " Border Clubs " Gala , Hawick , Jed-Forest , Kelso and Melrose . However, the professionalization of the sport led to the division of the Scottish District Championship into two "Super Districts", as a result of which the best players are usually no longer available for their clubs. Some of the clubs take part in international tournaments of the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup .

On March 1, 1975, Scotland defeated Wales 12:10 during the Five Nations 1975 in front of 104,000 spectators at Murrayfield Stadium (the only defeat of the Welsh during the Five Nations 1975). The crowd was a new world record for a rugby match at the time and is still the record at Murrayfield. The win was part of a series of nine consecutive wins for the Scottish national rugby team at Murrayfield in the 1970s; However, they did not succeed in this success in away games, as you could only win one away win during the period.

1977 Nairn MacEwan replaced Bill Dickinson as national coach. In his three-year tenure, however, the Scots could only record one victory. Nevertheless, rugby showed a clear development in Scotland. The founding of the rugby leagues 1973–74 began to bear fruit; the level of club and district rugby was higher than ever and players were used to the pressure in games where the result was really important. Fewer players from English clubs had to be nominated for the national team, as the local clubs produced a sufficient number of players suitable for international tournaments for the first time since the First World War.

Jim Telfer became the new Scotland coach in 1980 and took over a team with great potential. In March 1982, Scotland won a game in Wales for the first time in 20 years. In July 1982 Scotland toured Australia and won the first Test Match, Scotland's first victory over any of the three great teams in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa). The 1983 season, however, was disappointing; Scotland lost the first three Five Nations games in 1983 . The tournament ended with a climax, however, when Scotland scored its second victory after 1938 against England at Twickenham. Then Scotland played in the autumn of 1983 against the All Blacks with a 25:25 draw. In 1984 they lost to the Wallabies on their tour to Great Britain and Ireland, who were able to achieve the Grand Slam for the first time after they had previously defeated England, Ireland and Wales.

Scotland was successful again in 1984 when they scored the second Grand Slam, the first since 1925, under team captain Jim Aitken . The consistent selection of players proved to be successful - twelve players played in all four Five Nations games, and of the total of 20 players were only two who played in clubs outside Scotland. Jim Telfer resigned after the Grand Slam in order to concentrate on his professional career as a teacher. His assistant, the former Hawick liaison officer Colin Telfer (not related), followed him as national coach. His tenure was only a year, including the disappointing Five Nations in 1985 , before stepping down to focus on his business. Derrick Grant succeeded him in the office of Scottish national coach.

In January 1986, a test match between “Blue” (players who would possibly play for Scotland) and “Red” (players with a possible international career) ended with a surprising 41:10 win for “Red”. The "red" team consisted of players like Gavin and Scott Hastings , Finlay Calder and David Sole , who all made their debut in the same year at the Five Nations 1986 and were to take on important roles in the national team in the following years. Scotland shared the 1986 Five Nations title with France after both teams won three games each. During the tournament, Scotland beat England 33-6 at Murrayfield Stadium; the highest victory for Scotland over England, then only one point less than the Scottish record victory in test matches and England's clearest defeat in more than 100 years.

1987-2000

Gavin Hastings played an important role in the Grand Slam during the Five Nations and in the semi-finals of the 1991 Rugby Union World Cup

Scotland took part in the first Rugby Union World Cup in 1987 . John Rutherford , the focal point of the team, sustained a knee injury during an unapproved tour to Bermuda . He collapsed within the first 15 minutes of the first game against France and was never to play for Scotland again. Scotland took the lead in the meantime, but the game ended with a 20:20 draw. Scotland lost to New Zealand in the quarterfinals. On June 27, 1988, Ian McGeechan became the new national coach, replacing Derrick Grant, who resigned after the Five Nations in 1988 .

Scotland's most successful year in the Modern Era was 1990, when the course of the season was to be decided in a game at Murrayfield Stadium for the Grand Slam and the "old rivals" England were received. By then, both teams had won their Five Nations games in 1990 and England were considered favorites despite being the visiting team. Scotland, with its team captain and Prop David Sole , won the game 13: 7 and achieved the third Grand Slam. The England game was only the second that The Flower of Scotland was played at Murrayfield Stadium, having recently become the anthem of the Scottish rugby union team. In 1990 the first official test match took place against the Pumas , which they defeated at home at Murrayfield Stadium with 49: 3.

The second World Cup took place in 1991 and the games were played in various stadiums in what were then the Five Nations countries. Scotland was able to win the group despite a close game against Ireland and then defeat Western Samoa in the quarterfinals. Scotland were defeated by England in the semi-finals at Murrayfield Stadium after Rob Andrew scored a drop goal. In the small final for 3rd place they were defeated by New Zealand.

In 1994 Scotland did not win, but in 1995 it was able to build on old performances and win the first three games of the Five Nations in 1995 . The winning streak included a 23:21 away win over France thanks to a last-minute attempt and its increase by Gavin Hastings. This was Scotland's first win in Paris since 1969. The last Five Nations game against England was again decisive for the Grand Slam, but this time England beat Scotland 24:12, thanks largely to Rob Andrew's shooting skills.

The third World Cup was held in South Africa. They suffered a narrow loss to France in the group stage when Scotland conceded a try in added time and Scotland finished second on the group table. In the quarter-finals, Scotland was defeated by New Zealand.

On August 26, 1995, the International Rugby Board lifted all restrictions on player payment, ushering in the professional era of rugby union. In 1995 Scotland also played against the Five Nations candidate Italy for the first time and won at home with 29:22. In 1998 they lost to Italy for the first time when the test match in Treviso was lost at 21:25.

Scotland won the last Five Nations in 1999 after Wales beat England in the last game. In the quarter-finals of the Rugby Union World Cup 1999 they lost to New Zealand.

2000-2008

Scotland versus France during the 2004 Six Nations

Alley during the game between Scotland and Romania, 2006; Scotland won 44-6

Scotland v Ireland in the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup

The first tournament of the enlarged Six Nations 2000 was a disappointment for defending champions Scotland after losing their first four games, including the opening game against the first-time Italians. The last game against England could be won under team captain Andy Nicol with 19:13. In 2002 they defeated the Springboks at home at Murrayfield Stadium by a clear 21: 6.

Australian Matt Williams became Scotland's first foreign national coach in 2003. However, his tenure was controversial and considered unsuccessful, and is remembered primarily for a series of poor performances and verbal battles with his players. During the Rugby Union World Cup in 2003 , Scotland finished second behind France in the group, but was defeated by hosts Australia 33:16 in the quarter-finals. In 2004 Williams tried to introduce a controversial "Castell Scotland" rule, according to which only players could play for the national team who also played in the domestic leagues. Meanwhile the SRU got a new leadership, and its chairman Phil Anderton (called "Firework Phil" because of his pre-game entertainment shows) worked to bring the Scottish Rugby Union back to solvency and he carried out important reforms to the decline of rugby in Preventing Scotland, however, was sacked in January 2005 after its boss David Mackay was forced to resign by the RFU General Committee. By April 2005, Scotland could only win three of its 17 games under Williams. After a review by the SRU and public criticism from several players, Williams was released on April 25, 2005.

Frank Hadden, coach of the Edinburgh Gunners, was appointed interim coach for the 2005 Mid-year Internationals against the Barbarians and Romania , and won both games. On September 15, 2005 he was the new official national coach of the Scots.

In the first game of the Six Nations in 2006 , Scotland beat France 20:16, this was the Scots' first victory over France since 1999. Scotland also defeated England at home at Murrayfield Stadium 18:12 to win the Calcutta Cup back. Scotland avoided a draw against Italy in Rome when they were awarded a late penalty and beat Italy at 13:10.

During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals 2006 , Scotland won two of its three Test matches. So they defeated Romania clearly and showed a convincing performance in the first half against the Pacific Islanders , which they defeated with 34:22. In the last test match against Australia, however, Scotland could not access the game and they were defeated by the Wallabies with 15:44.

Scotland started the Six Nations in 2007 with a loss to England and then had to give up the Calcutta Cup. Three weeks later, Scotland became the first Six Nations team to be defeated at home by Italy (17:37). This was Italy's biggest win over Scotland so far, both at home and away. A few months later, the team left for the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup in France. Scotland managed to qualify from the group stage in the quarter-finals, but there they were defeated by Argentina .

During the Six Nations 2008 , Scotland was defeated at home by France 27: 6. After the defeat against Wales, the pressure on the national coach Frank Hadden increased and they then lost to Ireland. Scotland won the Calcutta Cup back after a 15: 9 victory over England before they were defeated by Italy in Rome with 20:23, and the " wooden spoon " could only be avoided on points and was penultimate in the table. Then they went to Argentina for two test matches. Scotland lost the first game with 15:21, but won the second with 26:15.

Since 2009

Scotland versus Ireland during the 2009 Six Nations

Scrum during the game between Scotland and France during the 2010 Six Nations

Alley at the game Scotland vs Italy during the Six Nations 2012

Scotland versus Italy during the 2016 Six Nations

Scotland after beating the Wallabies during the 2017 Mid-year Internationals when they won the Hopetoun Cup

During the disappointing Six Nations 2009 , Scotland managed only one win (against Italy) for the second time in a row and then, on April 2, 2009, Frank Hadden resigned as national coach. On June 4, 2009, former England, Edinburgh and Bath coach Andy Robinson became Scotland's new national coach for the 2009 end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals . Scotland took a 23-10 win over Fiji and a memorable 9-8 win over Australia (their first win over the Wallabies in 27 years) at Murrayfield Stadium.

During the 2010 Six Nations , Scotland lost to France, Wales and Italy before drawing against England. In the last game at Croke Park , Scotland achieved their only victory when they defeated Ireland 23:20 after a penalty from Dan Parks in the last minute, whereby the Irish missed the triple crown and the Scots avoided the “wooden spoon”. During the Mid-year Internationals 2010 , they set out for Argentina to score their first series win away from home, after the Scots defeated the Pumas in both test matches, 24:16 and 13: 9. During the 2010 end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals , Scotland suffered a significant defeat against New Zealand before beating South Africa, 21:17, and Samoa, 19:16.

During the Six Nations 2011 Scotland had poor performances and could only win one game against Italy with 21-8. During the Rugby Union World Cup 2011 , Scotland struggled to beat Romania (34:24) and Georgia (15: 6) before losing to Argentina at 12:13. Then Scotland had to defeat England in the last group game in Auckland to qualify for the quarter-finals; Scotland led 12-3 after 60 minutes, but were defeated 12:16 after an attempt by Chris Ashton . This was the first time Scotland had been eliminated from the tournament in the group stage of a World Cup.

Scotland's performance in the 2012 Six Nations was disappointing after losing all its games and thus “winning” the wooden spoon, despite promising moments that pushed Scotland down to twelfth place in the world, Scotland's worst position so far. Nevertheless, Scotland managed a victory over Australia (9: 6) during the tour to Australia, Fiji and Samoa. This was Scotland's first victory in Australia since 1982 and the first time in 30 years that Scotland had beaten the Wallabies more than once in a row. Scotland also scored away wins over Fiji and Samoa. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals in 2012 , Scotland suffered defeats against the All Blacks and South Africa, but also against Tonga, which resulted in Andy Robinson's resignation as national coach. Scott Johnson followed in December 2012 as an interim coach.

During the Six Nations 2013 , Scotland scored victories over Italy and Ireland, making them third, Scotland's best performance since 2006. However, they lost 18:38 at Twickenham Stadium, allowing England to defend the Calcutta Cup. On May 3, 2013, Johnson was hired by the Scottish Rugby Union as the first rugby director and was entrusted with the supervision of the entire sport of rugby in Scotland. On May 27, 2013 it was announced that Vern Cotter would be the new national coach of Scotland, but the SRU had to wait until 2014 after the Clermont club could not reach an agreement with the SRU to release Cotter from his contract a year earlier. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals 2013, the Scots lost to Australia and had to give up the Hopetoun Cup to Australia.

The 2014 Six Nations were disappointing for Scotland after only winning one win (in Italy) and Wales beating them 51-3 in the last game, putting Scotland in penultimate place. Vern Cotter was finally able to take over his position as Scottish national coach and during the Mid-year Internationals 2014 the Scots achieved three victories over the best national teams in America before they lost South Africa 6:55. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals in 2014 , Scotland beat Argentina and Tonga at Murrayfield Stadium, but also lost narrowly to New Zealand. The test match against Tonga was played in Rugby Park , Kilmarnock , and was the first international match on artificial turf .

During the Six Nations 2015 , Scotland was defeated by all other teams, despite the optimism among the players and supporters before the tournament. However, during the warm-up matches in preparation for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup , Scotland performed better, scooping two wins against Italy before losing to France and Tonga with narrow results. Scotland had good results during the tournament in England; they qualified for the quarter-finals after victories over Japan, the USA and Samoa, but also a defeat against South Africa. Scotland met Australia in the quarter-finals and they led 34:32 until 30 seconds before the final whistle. However, a controversial penalty kick was awarded to the Wallabies by referee Craig Joubert , which was later found incorrect by the match officials, which was converted by Bernard Foley and let Australia win the game 35:34.

During the 2016 Six Nations , Scotland lost its first two games, stretching the streak to nine games, the longest streak for Scotland since the 1950s. The Scots finally ended their series of defeats when they defeated Italy in Rome with 36:20; John Barclay , John Hardie and Tommy Seymour all laid attempts. This performance was followed by a victory over France at Murrayfield Stadium; Stuart Hogg , Duncan Taylor and Tim Visser contributed with their attempts to the 29:18 victory of the Scots. This was Scotland's first win over France since 2006 and also ended a ten-game losing streak against Les Bleus . During the Mid-year Internationals 2016 , Scotland made a successful tour to Japan and won both Test Matches, and during the End-of-year Internationals 2016, scored the third consecutive win over Argentina (the seventh overall win over the Pumas in official Test matches) .

During the Six Nations 2017 , Scotland performed significantly better, recording three home wins and two away defeats. However, they conceded a record defeat of 21:61 against England. This was Vern Cotter's last tournament as Scottish national coach, but the Scots also beat Australia 24:19 during their 2017 Mid-year Internationals in the Southern Hemisphere. In the first Six Nations game, Scotland stepped onto the field with confidence, and they won their first opening game in eleven years after a close match at Murrayfield Stadium. This was followed by a defeat against France in Paris. Scotland won their third game against Wales, the first for Scotland over Wales since 2007. In the anticipated game against England for the Calcutta Cup in Twickenham, however, Scotland clearly lost 21:61. This was a record loss to England and put an end to Scotland's hopes of winning the tournament. In the last game, Scotland beat Italy 29-0 at Murrayfield Stadium and ended up in fourth place in the table.

Gregor Townsend became the new Scotland coach in June 2017. His first game took place in Singapore against Italy, which Scotland won 34:13. A week later, Scotland beat Australia 24:19 in Sydney , the Scots' second consecutive victory in Australia. The win is memorable for absent players like Stuart Hogg and Greig Laidlaw who were with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand. The tour ended in a 22:27 loss to Fiji in Suva .

A win over Samoa in November 2017 was followed by a memorable game against New Zealand at the sold-out Murrayfield Stadium. Attempts by Jonny Gray and Huw Jones left Scotland in the lead 22:17, and with a minute before the end of the game, New Zealand half- liaison Beauden Barrett had to give everything to prevent Stuart Hogg's decisive attempt. A week later, Scotland scored a record win against the Wallabies, including eight attempts in Australian hooker Stephen Moore's final test match . Scotland won 53:24, their highest victory over Australia.

During the Six Nations 2018 , Scotland beat England at the Murrayfield Stadium by 25:13, making the Calcutta Cup the first time since 2008. During the Six Nations 2019 they even managed to defend the Calcutta Cup in Twickenham when they drew 38:38 against England.

During the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup , Scotland had to leave the tournament after the group stage after losing to both Ireland and hosts Japan. Scotland was able to score 59 points against 0 at least in the two group matches against Samoa and Russia.

Symbol and hymn

The Scottish national team in their traditional navy blue jerseys during the national anthem, 2007

The thistle, since the reign of Alexander III. (1249–1286) Symbol of Scotland and the Scottish National Rugby Union team

In addition to being the national herb of Scotland, the thistle is also the symbol of the Scottish national rugby union team. Legend has it that the "protective thistle" played a crucial role in the defense of Scotland against nightly attacking Vikings when one of them stepped barefoot on a thistle and his cry of pain warned the Scottish defenders. The Latin motto Nemo me impune lacessit (dt .: "Nobody irritates me with impunity") was the motto of the Scottish monarchs and it is this still the Order of the Thistle and the Scots Guards (the latter two are subordinate to the British monarch).

The Flower of Scotland has served as Scotland's unofficial anthem since 1990. The text was written in 1967 by Roy Williamson , founding member of The Corries , and accepted by the Scottish Rugby Union to replace God Save the Queen . In the first year with The Flower of Scotland as an anthem, Scotland met England in the decisive game of the Five Nations. This combination created an explosive atmosphere and Scotland beat England 13-7, winning both the Five Nations and the Grand Slam. At home games at Murrayfield Stadium, The Flower of Scotland is usually accompanied by bagpipes, which creates a unique atmosphere.

Scotland traditionally plays in dark blue jerseys, white shorts and blue socks. When Scotland is the home team and the visiting team usually plays in darker colors - such as Argentina, France and Italy - Scotland plays the game in the away shirt. This traditionally consists of a white jersey with dark blue pants and socks. For a short time when Cotton Oxford was the shirt sponsor, the white shirt was replaced with a lighter orange with blue rings around the sleeves. This shirt was first worn against the All Blacks on November 14, 1998. This alternative kit was replaced by the more traditional white just two years later. In those two years, purple was also added to the traditional blue jersey. This was a significant departure from the traditional colors of blue and white, although purple was borrowed from the thistle flower.

In September 1993, The Famous Grouse was introduced as a sponsor and for the first time a sponsor's name was added to the shirt in addition to the kit supplier's name. After signing a new contract in 1997, the Famous Grouse logo appeared on the Scottish shirt. More agreements followed, making this the longest sponsored deal in the rugby world. When Scotland was playing Test Matches in France at the time, the Famous Grouse logo was replaced with the initials TFG as a result of the Evin Act , which bans all advertising of alcohol in France, including at sporting events . In May 2007, Famous Grouse ended its sponsorship of the Scottish national team after 17 years. The Famous Grouse continued to maintain an unremarkable association with the Scottish Rugby Union and became the "official spirit of Scottish rugby". The deal was probably worth a tenth of the original cost and prohibited the Scottish Rugby Union from entering into any contracts with any other whiskey maker.

On September 3, 2007, it was announced that after signing a £ 2.7 million contract, the company of then Glasgow Rangers Chairman David E. Murray would become the new shirt sponsor for three years. In August 2011, the Royal Bank of Scotland took on the role of main sponsor of Scottish rugby after David E. Murray's company decided to end sponsorship. BT became the primary shirt sponsor under the £ 20m deal signed in 2014.

Home stadium

→ Main article : Murrayfield Stadium

Memorial to the memory of Scottish rugby players who died during the two world wars

Scottish rugby supporters during the game against Romania during the 2007 World Cup at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh

The first international match between two national rugby union teams took place at the Raeburn Place Stadium. The Edinburgh-based Scottish team won a game against the English team on March 27, 1871. From 1871 to 1925, the Scottish team played international home games in many stadiums before settling at Murrayfield Stadium.

The then Scottish Football Union (now Scottish Rugby Union) was initially forced to rent various cricket fields for the Scottish rugby team, which is why they planned their own stadium. Their search lasted seven years; no community was willing to host the Scottish rugby team on the pretext that fans would show up like wild hordes during match days. In 1897 they finally acquired land in Inverleith worth £ 3,800 and Scotland became the first of the four Home Nations to have its own stadium. The first game originally planned against Wales took place on February 18, 1899 and the Scots were defeated 9-3 at home by Ireland. Inverleith hosted Scottish home games until January 25, 1925, when the last game was against France. The Scottish rugby team moved to Murrayfield Stadium on March 21 of the same year.

The Scottish Rugby Union acquired the land from the Edinburgh Polo Club in 1920 and began building the first Murrayfield Stadium, which was inaugurated on March 21, 1925. The first game at Murrayfield Stadium was Scotland against England in front of around 70,000 spectators, which the Scots won and at the same time scored their first Grand Slam.

During the Second World War, Murrayfield Stadium was used as a warehouse by the Royal Air Force . The Scots then used Inverleith Stadium for two years until the Royal Air Force returned Murrayfield Stadium to the Scots in 1944.

The stadium could accommodate up to 104,000 spectators in 1975; however, the capacity had to be reduced for safety reasons.

A field heating system was installed in the early 1990s and used during the 1991 World Cup. This makes games easier in the winter months.

On the southeast side of the stadium, near the railway bridge, a memorial was erected in memory of the Scottish rugby players who died during the Second Boer War and both World Wars.

Venues during rugby union world championships

→ Main articles : Rugby Union World Cup 1991 , Rugby Union World Cup 1999,  and Rugby Union World Cup 2007

Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh

Scottish Murrayfield Stadium was used during the 1991 Rugby World Cup and 1999 Rugby World Cup (along with games in the other five nations) and the 2007 Rugby World Cup (along with hosts France and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium). In 1999, Glasgow's Hampden Park and Galashiel's Netherdale were also used.

Test matches

Scotland has been ranked in World Rugby since October 10, 2003

See also : List of test matches for the Scottish national rugby union team

Scotland has won 301 of its 702 test matches so far (as of the end of July 2020), which corresponds to a win rate of 42.88%.

country	Games	Won	undecided eliminated	Lost	% Victories
Argentina	18th	9	0	9	50.00
Australia	32	11	0	21st	34.38
Ivory Coast	1	1	0	0	100
England	138	43	19th	76	31.16
Fiji	8th	6th	0	2	75.00
France	96	38	3	55	39.58
Georgia	4th	4th	0	0	100
Ireland	136	65	6th	65	47.79
Italy	31	23	0	8th	74.19
Canada	5	4th	0	1	80.00
Japan	8th	7th	0	1	87.50
New Zealand	31	0	2	29	0.00
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100
Romania	13	11	0	2	84.62
Russia	1	1	0	0	100
Samoa	12	10	1	1	83.33
Zimbabwe	2	2	0	0	100
Spain	1	1	0	0	100
South Africa	27	5	0	22nd	18.52
Tonga	4th	3	0	1	75.00
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	100
Wales	125	49	3	73	39.20
United States	6th	5	0	1	83.33
Total	702	301	34	367	42.88

successes

World championships

Scotland have taken part in every World Cup so far, finishing fourth (1991), the Scottish best result so far after losing the semi-finals to England and the third place match against New Zealand. In addition, Scotland have reached the quarter-finals six times, but lost to New Zealand (1987, 1995, 1999) and Australia (2003 and 2015) and Argentina (2007). In two other World Cup appearances (2011 and 2019), Scotland did not get beyond the group stage after winning two and losing two games.

• World Cup 1987 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 1991 : 4th place
• World Cup 1995 : quarter-finals
• 1999 World Cup : quarter-finals
• World Championship 2003 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 2007 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 2011 : preliminary round (two wins)
• World Championship 2015 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 2019 : preliminary round (two wins)
• World Championship 2023 : qualified

Home Nations / Five Nations / Six Nations

The Calcutta Cup is one of the oldest trophies in international rugby and has been played between Scotland and England since 1879

Scotland's only annual tournament is the Six Nations, where you play against five other European teams: England, France, Ireland, Italy and Wales. The Six Nations began in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship, and Scotland shared the title with England for the first time in 1886, before winning the title alone a year later. Scotland has won the tournament 15 times so far, with nine shared titles. Scotland scored the Grand Slam three times (including the Triple Crown): in 1925, 1984 and 1990, as well as seven other Triple Crowns. Since 2000, however, Scotland has not won a title. During the Six Nations, Scotland plays against England for the Calcutta Cup, which Scotland won for the first time in 1882. Since 1989 Scotland has played the Centenary Quaich against Ireland during the Six Nations , as well as the Auld Alliance Trophy against France and the Doddie Weir Cup against Wales since 2018 .

• 15 single victories (1887, 1889, 1891, 1895, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1907, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1938, 1984, 1990, 1999)
• 9 shared victories (1886, 1888, 1890, 1920, 1926, 1927, 1964, 1973, 1986)
• 3 Grand Slams (1925, 1984, 1990)
• 10 Triple Crowns (1891, 1895, 1901, 1903, 1907, 1925, 1933, 1938, 1984, 1990)

More test matches

The Hopetoun Cup has been played between Scotland and Australia since 1998

During the amateur era, Scotland toured abroad, sometimes for months, to compete against other national teams as well as against regional selections and club teams. Touring national teams were also received in Scotland.

The tours according to old tradition came to a standstill around the year 2000. Today there are two time slots available every year for test matches against teams from the southern hemisphere. Scotland will travel to the southern hemisphere at the Mid-year Internationals in June , and teams from the southern hemisphere will be hosted in Scotland at the End-of-year Internationals in November. Scotland has played against Australia for the Hopetoun Cup since 1998 and against Canada for the Douglas Horn Trophy since 2008 .

player

Current squad

The following players make up the roster during the Six Nations 2020 :

Back line (backs) player position team International matches George Horne Half of the crowd Glasgow Warriors 10 Ali Price Half of the crowd Glasgow Warriors 28 Henry Pyrgos Half of the crowd Edinburgh rugby 28 Adam Hastings Interconnects Glasgow Warriors 6th Finn Russell Interconnects Racing Metro 92 49 Chris Harris Inner three quarters Gloucester RFC 14th Rory Hutchinson Inner three quarters Northampton Saints 3 Huw Jones Inner three quarters Glasgow Warriors 23 Sam Johnson Inner three quarters Glasgow Warriors 9 Matt Scott Inner three quarters Edinburgh rugby 39 Kyle Steyn Inner three quarters Glasgow Warriors 0 Darcy Graham Outer three-quarters Edinburgh rugby 11 Sean Maitland Outer three-quarters Saracens 44 Byron McGuigan Outer three-quarters Sale Sharks 9 Ratu Tagive Outer three-quarters Glasgow Warriors 0 Stuart Hogg Goalkeeper Exeter Chiefs 72 Blair Kinghorn Goalkeeper Edinburgh rugby 17th

Striker (forwards) player position team International matches Fraser Brown hooker Glasgow Warriors 46 Stuart McInally hooker Edinburgh rugby 33 George Turner hooker Glasgow Warriors 9 Simon Berghan pier Edinburgh rugby 24 Jamie Bhatti pier Edinburgh rugby 15th Allan Dell pier London Irish 28 Zander Fagerson pier Glasgow Warriors 25th WP Nel pier Edinburgh rugby 35 Rory Sutherland pier Edinburgh rugby 3 Alex Craig Second row striker Gloucester RFC 0 Scott Cummings Second row striker Glasgow Warriors 8th Grant Gilchrist Second row striker Edinburgh rugby 40 Jonny Gray Second row striker Glasgow Warriors 55 Ben Toolis Second row striker Edinburgh rugby 22nd Magnus Bradbury Winger Edinburgh rugby 11 Luke Crosbie Winger Edinburgh rugby 0 Cornell du Preez Winger Worcester Warriors 6th Tom Gordon Winger Glasgow Warriors 0 Nick Haining Winger Edinburgh rugby 0 Jamie Ritchie Winger Edinburgh rugby 14th Hamish Watson Winger Edinburgh rugby 28

Known players

Gary Armstrong Roger Baird Johnnie Beattie Mike Blair Gordon Brown Peter Brown Gordon Bulloch Finlay Calder Sandy Carmichael Craig Chalmers Damian Cronin Chris Cusiter Colin Deans Bruce Douglas

Stuart Grimes Gavin Hastings Scott Hastings Andrew Henderson Nathan Hines Allister Hogg Andy Irvine John Jeffrey Gavin Kerr Roy Laidlaw Eric Liddell Sean Lineen Kenny Logan

Ian McGeechan Ian McLauchlan Alastair McHarg Glenn Metcalfe Iain Milne Scott Murray Chris Paterson Iain Paxton Budge Pountney Bryan Redpath Jim Renwick John Rutherford Ian Smith

Tom Smith David Sole Tony Stanger Walter Sutherland Alan Tait Simon Taylor Jim Telfer Gregor Townsend Ivan Tukalo Rob Wainwright Simon Webster Doddie Weir Jason White

Nine Scottish players were inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame for their outstanding performance . These are Ned Haig , Bill Maclagan , Ian McGeechan , David Bedell-Sivright , Gavin Hastings , Jim Greenwood , Andy Irvine , Gordon Brown and Phil Macpherson . Then there are coach Ian McGeechan, commentator Bill McLaren and the rugby club Melrose RFC (for the invention of rugby sevens ).

Player statistics

Ross Ford (2017)

Greig Laidlaw (2014)

(As of July 2020)

Most of the games in the national team rank Surname Period Games 1 Ross Ford 2004-2017 110 2 Chris Paterson 1999-2011 109 3 Sean Lamont 2004-2016 105 4th Scott Murray 1997-2007 87 5 Mike Blair 2002–2012 85

Most games as captain rank Surname Period Games 1 Greig Laidlaw 2013-2019 40 2 David Sole 1989-1992 25th 3 Bryan Redpath 1998-2003 21st 4th Gavin Hastings 1993-1995 20th 5 Ian McLauchlan 1973-1979 19th

Most points scored rank Surname Period Points 1 Chris Paterson 1999-2011 809 2 Greig Laidlaw 2010-2019 714 3 Gavin Hastings 1986-1995 667 4th Andy Irvine 1972-1982 269 5 Dan Parks 2004–2012 266

Most attempts made rank Surname Period tries 1 Ian Smith 1924-1933 24 2 Tony Stanger 1989-1998 24 3 Chris Paterson 1999-2011 22nd 4th Stuart Hogg 2012-2020 20th 5 Tommy Seymour 2013-2019 20th

Trainer

Vern Cotter (2010)

Scotland first appointed a national coach in 1971: Bill Dickinson. His post was officially called "Team Captain's Advisor". Before that, the team captain had this role. Gregor Townsend is currently the Scottish national coach after being hired in 2017.

Surname	Years	Wins in%
Bill Dickinson	1971-1977	51.85
Nairn McEwan	1977-1980	7.14
Jim Telfer	1980-1984	48.15
Colin Telfer	1984-1985	0
Derrick Grant	1985-1988	50
Ian McGeechan	1988-1993	57.58
Jim Telfer	1994-1999	39.62
Ian McGeechan	2000-2003	41.86
Matt Williams	2003-2005	17.65
Frank Hadden	2005-2009	39.02
Andy Robinson	2009–2012	42.86
Scott Johnson (interim)	2012-2014	31.25
Vern Cotter	2014-2017	52.78
Gregor Townsend	since 2017	51.52

literature

• Bath, Richard: The Complete Book of Rugby . Ed .: Seven Oaks Ltd. 1997, ISBN 1-86200-013-1 .
• Huw Richards: A Game for Hooligans . Ed .: Mainstream Publishing. Edinburgh 2006, ISBN 978-1-84596-255-5 .

Web links

Commons : Scottish National Rugby Union Team  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Scottish Rugby Union
• Rugby News ( October 22, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive )
• International match statistics for Scotland on rugbydata.com

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