Auld Alliance Trophy

Auld Alliance Trophy

Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	2018;7 years ago (2018)
Number of teams	2
Country	France   Scotland
Holders	France (2025)
Most titles	France (5 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.

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 London master silversmiths Thomas Lyte 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". In October 2022, a descendant of Eric Milroy was identified in Ollie Smith, a player for the Glagows Warriors and the Scottish national team

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

Overall, as of 2024 there have been 103 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). In addition, the teams played two 'warm-up' test matches in preparation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Matches

Host nation	Played	France wins	Scotland wins	Drawn	France points	Scotland points
France	4	3	1	0	117	74
Scotland	4	2	2	0	99	93
Overall	8	5	3	0	216	167

Results

Year	Date	Venue	Home	Score	Away	Trophy Winner
2018	11 February	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Scotland	32–26	France
2019	23 February	Stade de France, Paris	France	27–10	Scotland
2020	8 March	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Scotland	28–17	France
2021	26 March	Stade de France, Paris	France	23–27	Scotland
2022	26 February	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Scotland	17–36	France
2023	26 February	Stade de France, Paris	France	32–21	Scotland
2024	10 February	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Scotland	16–20	France
2025	15 March	Stade de France, Paris	France	35–16	Scotland

See also

• List of international rugby union players killed in World War I
• Rugby union trophies and awards
• Millennium Trophy, for winners of England v. Ireland in the Six Nations
• Calcutta Cup, for winners of England v. Scotland in the Six Nations
• Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, for winners of France v. Italy in the Six Nations
• Centenary Quaich, for winners of Ireland v. Scotland in the Six Nations
• Triple Crown Trophy, if either England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales beat the other three Home Nations.

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.