Auld Alliance Trophy

Last updated
Auld Alliance Trophy
AAT Murrayfield.jpg
Sport Rugby union
Instituted2018;6 years ago (2018)
Number of teams2
CountryFlag of France.svg  France
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
HoldersFlag of France.svg  France (2024)
Most titlesFlag of France.svg  France (4 titles)

The Auld Alliance Trophy is a trophy in rugby union awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Scotland.

Contents

The Trophy was first awarded in 2018, the centenary of the end of World War I, to commemorate the French and Scottish rugby players who were killed during the conflict, in particular the captains of the two nations in the last matches played before the First World War – Eric Milroy (Scotland) and Marcel Burgun (France). [1] The Trophy was carried on to the pitch at Murrayfield before the Six Nations match by Lachlan Ross and Romain Cabanis, 11-year-old descendants of the Milroy and Burgun families. [2] In all, 30 Scottish and 22 French internationals were killed in the war.

Manufactured from solid silver by Thomas Lyte & Co. and featuring a design of poppies and cornflowers for remembrance, [3] the Trophy was promoted to the Scottish Rugby Union and the Fédération française de rugby by Patrick Caublot of Amiens Rugby Club and by David Anderson, Milroy's great-great-nephew. [4]

The Trophy is inscribed, in English and French, with the words: "In memory of Eric Milroy, Marcel Burgun and all the French and Scottish rugby players who fell during World War I".

The name is a reference to the 13th century Auld Alliance between France and Scotland.

Overall, as of 2021 there have been 98 matches between the two countries. [5] There have been three Rugby World Cup meetings, each time in the initial pool stage, with the first fixture ending in a draw (20–20 in 1987) and France winning both of the others (22–19 in 1995, and 51–9 in 2003). Recently in October 2022, a descendant of Eric Milroy could be identified, it is Ollie Smith player of the Glagows Warriors and the Scottish rugby team

Matches

Host nationPlayedFlag of France.svg  France winsFlag of Scotland.svg  Scotland winsDrawnFrance pointsScotland points
Flag of France.svg France32108258
Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland42209993
Overall7430181151

Results

YearDateVenueHomeScoreAwayTrophy
Winner
201811 February Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg32–26Flag of France.svg  France Flag of Scotland.svg
201923 February Stade de France, Paris France  Flag of France.svg27–10Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Flag of France.svg
20208 March Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg28–17Flag of France.svg  France Flag of Scotland.svg
202126 March Stade de France, Paris France  Flag of France.svg23–27Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Flag of Scotland.svg
202226 February Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg17–36Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg
202326 February Stade de France, Paris France  Flag of France.svg32–21Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Flag of France.svg
202410 February Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg16–20Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby World Cup</span> International mens rugby union competition

The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World champions of the sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Nations Championship</span> Annual international rugby union competition

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The championship holders are Ireland, who won the 2023 tournament, while the 2024 Six Nations Championship is currently in progress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcutta Cup</span> Rugby competition between Scotland and England

The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested between any two international rugby union teams, pre-dating the Bledisloe Cup by 53 years, 135 days. It is also the oldest of several trophies awarded under the umbrella of the Six Nations Championship, which include the Millennium Trophy (England–Ireland), Centenary Quaich (Ireland–Scotland), Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy (France–Italy), Auld Alliance Trophy (France–Scotland), the Doddie Weir Cup (Scotland–Wales) and the Cuttitta Cup (Italy–Scotland).

Gregor Peter John Townsend is a Scottish professional rugby union coach and former player who has been coaching the Scotland national team since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabien Galthié</span> French rugby union player and manager

Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Six Nations Championship</span> Rugby tournament

The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes, is an international rugby union competition contested between six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the Home Nations, with four teams: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Italy.

The Centenary Quaich is an international rugby union award contested annually by Ireland and Scotland as part of the Six Nations Championship.

Howe of Fife RFC is a rugby union club based in Cupar, Fife, Scotland. It was founded in 1921, and they play in blue and white hoops. The men's first XV team currently competes in Scottish National League Division Three, the women's XV - known as Howe Harlequins - plays in Scottish Womens National One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Milroy</span> Scotland international rugby union player (1887–1916)

Eric "Puss" MacLeod Milroy was a rugby union player who represented Scotland and Watsonians. He was capped twelve times for Scotland between 1910 and 1914, his first appearance coming as a surprise replacement for the Scottish captain, George Cunningham. He was selected for the 1910 British Isles tour to South Africa after other players were forced to withdraw. Due to illness, he only participated in three matches, and did not take part in any of the tests against South Africa. In 1914, he captained Scotland against Ireland, and against England in the last international match before the outbreak of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Burgun</span> French rugby union player

Marcel Henry Burgun was a French rugby union player. He was born on 30 January 1890, in St Petersburg, Russia and died on 2 September 1916 during the First World War. He was 1 m 73 and weighed 72 kg, and played at centre, for France and Racing club de France.

The history of rugby union matches between France and Scotland dates back to 1910 when the two teams played against each other in Edinburgh. Scotland won the match 27–0. Since then there have been a total of 103 games played, resulting in 60 wins for France, 40 wins for Scotland and 3 draws, as of February 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Brunel (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Jacques Brunel is a French rugby union coach and former player. He was most recently the French national team head coach, having previously been assistant coach for his nation and had led the Italian national team between 2011 and 2016. Brunel, who has spent most of his career in France, formally coached his former team Auch, as well as Bordeaux Bègles, Colomiers, Pau and Perpignan.

The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Including the competition's previous incarnations as the Home Nations Championship and Five Nations Championship, it was the 120th edition of the tournament.

The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

The 2018 Six Nations Championship was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations.

The 2019 Six Nations Championship was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 125th edition of the competition.

The 2022 Six Nations Championship was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales, and the 128th edition of the competition. Wales entered the tournament as defending champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuttitta Cup</span> Annual trophy contested between Italy and Scotland since 2022

The Cuttitta Cup is a trophy in rugby union awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between Italy and Scotland.

References

  1. "Auld Alliance Trophy unveiled". www.scottishrugby.org. Scottish Rugby Union. 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  2. Shute, Joe (10 February 2018). "Scotland v France, 2018: how the heroism of two fallen rugby rivals lives on". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  3. Kennedy, Laurina (10 February 2018). "The Auld Alliance Trophy". Thomas Lyte. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. McPartlin, Patrick (9 February 2018). "Six Nations: Scotland and France to contest new Auld Alliance Trophy". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. "Games played between Scotland and France". Rugby Data. Retrieved 12 February 2018.