Australian rules football in Scotland

Last updated

Australian rules football in Scotland
CountryScotland
Governing bodyAFL Scotland
National team(s) Scotland
Nickname(s)SARFL
Clubs5

In Scotland, the sport of Australian rules football is a minor, relatively unknown sport, currently played at amateur level by men and women teams from five clubs spread across the regions of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife and West Lothian. The Haggis Cup, a major invitational tournament hosted in Scotland, has been run annually since 2004. Unlike the sport in England, in Scotland, the main format is nine-a-side footy played on rugby union fields.

Contents

The sport has a long history in Scotland but with extended periods of inactivity. Scottish involvement had a big influence on the sport's development in its earliest days, coordinating the first competition and trophy, the Caledonian Challenge Cup in 1861, establishing Australian rules football in Queensland in 1866 and one of the game's earliest and most successful clubs, the Essendon Football Club in 1872. The game was first established in Edinburgh in 1888 by students from Edinburgh University.

Edinburgh has hosted the EU Cup, including the 2012 tournament and most recently in 2022. The national men's team best result is 5th in 2009, the women's team's has achieved 3rd in both 2014 and 2022. In all other international tournaments including the AFL Europe Championship and Australian Football International Cup, Scotland competes as part of the combined Great Britain men's or women's side.

Scottish players have featured in the Australian Football League as early as 1897, its first year of competition.

History

Scottish involvement in early years of Australian rules in Australia

David Watterston (pictured in 1898) instigated Australian rules football in Queensland in 1866 David Watterston Editor of the Australasian from Critic 23 April 1898 pg 22.png
David Watterston (pictured in 1898) instigated Australian rules football in Queensland in 1866

Scots were playing forms of football during the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s contributing to the early mix of rules played that eventually morphed into Australian rules. [1] Scots living in Melbourne and Victoria in the mid-19th century were greatly involved in the formation of the rules of the game, as well as the formation of a number of early clubs.

The first competition and trophy in 1861 was the instigation of the Royal Caledonian Society and known as the Caledonian Challenge Cup. [2] Among the members was George Frederick Bowen who born in Sydney to Scottish immigrants who founded the Carlton Football Club. [3]

David Watterston of Balgone Barns, Haddingtonshire [4] learned the game upon migrating to Melbourne, but importantly was founder of the Brisbane Football Club which commenced Australian rules football in Queensland in 1866 the second British colony to take up the sport.

One club formed by Scots was the Essendon Football Club (participating in the elite Australian Football League) formed in 1872 [5] which was founded by Robert McCracken, born in Ayrshire who emigrated at the age of 28. [6] The now-defunct Glasgow Redbacks wore black jumpers with a red diagonal stripe across the front, the same as worn by Essendon Football Club said to recognise the Scottish roots of Essendon.

First introduction in Edinburgh: 1880s

As early as April 1888 students at Edinburgh University (mostly Australian) had formed a team. The team contested a match in England against London University on 14 April 1888. [7] Reports in July 1889 from Australia appear to indicate that the sport continued for a time in Edinburgh, but that the Edinburgh team "wiped out every competing team". [8] Records of any team beyond this appear not to have survived.

Rumoured River Clyde competition: 1900s

There are rumours of a competition near the River Clyde during the early 20th Century,[ citation needed ] referred to in Geoffrey Blainey's A Game of Our Own,[ citation needed ] where a number of expatriate Australians were based in Scotland either as Ship Workers or Soldiers. Had this league existed, and there is no proof it ever did, then it had died out around the time of the First World War.[ citation needed ]

Earliest clubs and Establishment of the SARFL: 1990s-Present

During the 1990s the Caledonian Sharks were set up by John Boland, with the travelling restraints at the time club games lessened over the years until a period of inactivity until being adopted and rebranded as the Glasgow Sharks by Andrew Butler in 2003.[ citation needed ] The Edinburgh Puffins and modern SARFL came about through the work of Andrew Butler and Richard Prentice, former players with BARFL side, North London Lions.[ citation needed ] Butler and Prentice began plans for the SARFL in the winter of 2003.[ citation needed ] Intra city friendlies began in early 2003 and a combined rules match against Edinburgh Gaelic side Dunedin Connolleys.[ citation needed ] The Puffins made their debut in the 2003 Northern Cup tournament staged in St Helens.[ citation needed ] The side remained unbeaten against the then St Helens Miners and Wandsworth Demons.[ citation needed ] Later in 2003, the Puffins staged a home and away series against Oxford University winning both hard-fought games.[ citation needed ] The inaugural SARFL season was held in 2004 with a league consisting of two sides in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.[ citation needed ] The Puffins name, originally conceived by inaugural Edinburgh Puffins coach Gavin England was subsequently conferred upon the Scottish national team. Later in 2010 the Scottish Puffins were rebranded as the Scottish Clansmen.[ citation needed ]

In 2006, Glasgow and Edinburgh considered competing in the BARFL Regional competition, though travel problems saw them continue an expanded SARFL local competition with the Glasgow Redbacks and Middlesbrough Hawks from northern England joining the league. The Hawks left the league in 2007 to join the northern division of Aussie Rules UK, and the Scottish league had difficulty in operating on more than a social match level in 2008.[ citation needed ]

The league was relaunched in 2009, with the Glasgow and Edinburgh playing bases consolidated to one club in each city. They were joined by a new club in Aberdeen, named the "Aberdingoes".[ citation needed ]

Clubs & Competitions

Local Leagues

CompetitionRegionFirst seasonScottish TeamsNotes
Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL)Glasgow, Edinburgh, Kirkaldy & Broxburn20045 Scottish AFL
Haggis CupInvitational2004

Current Clubs

Scotland location map.svg
Location map of current clubs in the league.

The following teams are active in Scotland:

ColoursClubFoundedYears activeHome groundNotes
Edinburgh Bloods Australian Football Club colours.jpg
Edinburgh (Old Town) Bloods 2003-2003- Inverleith Park, Edinburgh Official website
Glasgow Giants Australian Football Club colours.jpg
Greater Glasgow Giants 20152015- Glasgow Green, Glasgow Official website
Kew Rovers Junior Football Club colours.jpg
Glasgow Sharks 20032003- GHA Rugby Club, Giffnock, Glasgow Official website
Kingdom Kangaroos Australian Football Club colours.jpg
Kingdom Kangaroos 20132013- Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy Facebook page
Tyne Tees Tigers Australian Rules Football Club colours.jpg
Tyne Tees Tigers 20132018-Broadway West Playing Fields, Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne Official website (based in Newcastle but participates in Scottish leagues)
West Lothian Eagles Australian Football Club colours.jpg
West Lothian Eagles 20162016-Winchburgh Sports Hub, Broxburn Facebook page

Past clubs

ClubFoundedYears activeHome groundNotes
Aberdeen Eagles20092009–2013(known as the Dingoes until 2011)
Falkirk Silverbacks20152015–2016

[9]

Haggis Cup results

The Haggis Cup is a major regional tournament hosted in Scotland involving teams from Scotland with invitational teams from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe that has been run annually since 2004.

YearDateMen's winnersWomen's winnersHost venue
2004Glasgow Sharks
2005Glasgow Sharks
2006Dublin Demons
20075 MayEdinburgh BloodsGlasgow
200812 AprilEdinburgh BloodsGlasgow
200923 MayAberdingoesGlasgow
201010 AprilDublin Demons Cartha Queens Park RFC, Glasgow
20119 AprilGlasgow Sharks Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
201221 AprilEdinburgh BloodsDublin AngelsPeffermill fields, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
2013Edinburgh Bloods
201412 AprilGlasgow SharksTyne Tees Tigers GHA Rugby Club, Giffnock, Glasgow
201511 AprilHuddersfield Rams [10] Peffermill fields, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
2016Wimbledon HawksSaltiresPeffermill fields, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
2017Nottingham ScorpionsUniversity of Birmingham West of Scotland F.C., Milngavie, Glasgow
201814 AprilWandsworth Demons West of Scotland F.C., Milngavie, Glasgow
20192 MarchManchester MosquitoesEdinburgh
2020Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
20222 AprilEdinburgh BloodsPeffermill fields, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
202315 AprilSouth Dublin SwansEdinburgh Bloods [11] Lenzie Rugby Club, Glasgow

National Team

Scotland
Flag of Scotland.svg
Nickname(s)Clansmen
Governing body AFL Europe
Rankings
CurrentNot ranked (as of October 2022 [12] )
International Cup
Appearances0

The Scottish national team, The Clansmen, compete in 1–3 events per calendar year. These events are typically the Tri-Nations Championship, the AFL Europe Euro Cup and an additional challenge match or friendly tournament across the European continent.

Euro Cup Participation

Formally known as the EU Cup, for which Scotland participated the inaugural event in London 2005, again in Prague 2008 and also in Zagreb 2009. Since becoming the Euro Cup in 2010 Scotland has participated in a further 6 of the 8 AFL Europe Euro Cup competitions to date, these were; Milan 2010; Belfast 2011; Edinburgh 2012; London 2014; Lisbon 2016 and; Bordeaux 2017.

The Scottish Clansmens strongest Euro Cup performance was in Belfast 2011, winning their group with wins over Spain and Finland and finishing 6th over all in the tournament.

Scotland in Euro Cup

Edinburgh 2012

Pool Stage:

Scotland progress to the Bowl Semi-Finals

Bordeaux 2017

Pool Stage:

Scotland progress to the Plate Quarter-Finals

Scotland progress to the Plate Semi-Finals

Scotland progress to the Plate Final

Audience

Television

ESPN (UK) and British Eurosport are the current holders of the British rights to the Australian Football League (AFL). ESPN shows three live games each round of the season including the playoffs and the AFL Grand Final. Eurosport shows one game a week but the coverage is delayed.

Players

Men's

Currently on an AFL senior list
PlayerClub/sAFL Years*AFL Matches*AFL Goals*Connections to Scotland, References
Aiden Bonar Greater Western Sydney, North Melbourne 2020-325Father [13]
Sam Switkowski Fremantle 2018-4728Parent [14]
Will Walker North Melbourne 2018-202164Parent [14]
Matthew Dick Carlton 2015-201660Parent [15]
Cameron Zurhaar North Melbourne 2017-84115Parent [14]
Aidan Corr Greater Western Sydney, North Melbourne 2013-1202Parent [14]
Sam Docherty Brisbane Lions, Carlton 2012-13516Father [16]
Brodie Smith Adelaide 2011-22567Parent [14] [16]
Rhys Palmer Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney, Carlton 2008-201712395Father [16]
Paul Stewart Port Adelaide 2008-201610133Father [16]
Sean Wight Melbourne 1984-199515063Born and raised in Glasgow, father [17]
Jim Edmond Footscray, Sydney, Brisbane Bears 1977-1988188287Born in Glasgow [18]
Bob Edmond Carlton 1967-1968100Born [19]
Bill Morris Richmond 1942-195114098Father [20]
Thomas Leather North Melbourne 1932-19331611Born Rutherglen [21]
Roy Cazaly St Kilda, South Melbourne 1911-1927198167Mother [22]
Charlie Norris North Melbourne 1910-191812423Father [23]
Ramsay Anderson Essendon, University 1910-1912310Born Edinburgh [24]
Doug Fraser Carlton 1910116Parents [25]
Alex Lang Carlton 1906-1710Father [25]
James Aitken Geelong 190310Father [26]
Andy Dougall Carlton 190220Parents [27]
Alex Barlow Carlton 1901-1903140Born [28]
Les MacPherson Melbourne 1898-189951Father [29]
Henry McPetrie Carlton 189752Born Glasgow [30]
Bill Proudfoot Collingwood 1897-19061080Parents [31]

Women's

Currently on an AFLW senior list
PlayerClub/sAFLW Years*AFLW Matches*AFLW Goals*Connections to Scotland, References
Janelle Cuthbertson Fremantle, Port Adelaide2020-240Parent [14]
Kirsten McLeod Western Bulldogs2017-3121Parent [14]

See also

Notes

  1. Giants , Sharks
  2. Giants , Sharks

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton Football Club</span> Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition.

Justin Mark Madden is a former Australian rules footballer and state politician. He played for both the Essendon Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Gregory Donald Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Geelong, the Sydney Swans and Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. A midfielder, he is a dual Brownlow Medal winner and at his peak was the then-highest-paid player in the history of the sport, including an under-the-table $200,000 bonus payment. He was also linked to further controversy during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Lloyd</span> Australian rules footballer

Matthew James Lloyd is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Fevola</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1981

Brendan Fevola is a former professional Australian rules footballer and radio presenter. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

David Alexander Parkin, OAM is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the Subiaco Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Australian rules football</span> Female-only form of Australian rules football

Women's Australian rules football, is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game. It is played by more than half a million women worldwide and with 119,447 Australian adult and 66,998 youth female participants in 2023 is the second most played code among women and girls in Australia behind soccer.

Matthew Lappin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in England</span>

Australian rules football in England is a team sport and spectator sport with a long history. It is home to the longest running Australian rules fixture outside Australia, the match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities which has been contested annually since 1923. All other current competitions originated in 1989 with the founding of what is now AFL London, the longest running Australian rules football league in Europe. The current governing body, AFL England, was formed in 2012 and expanded the game in 2018 to include the additional regional divisions: AFL Central & Northern England and AFL Southern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in Victoria</span>

In Victoria Australian rules football is the most popular sport overall, being the most watched and second most participated code of football. Australian rules football originated in Melbourne in the late 1850s and grew quickly to dominate the sport, which it continues to. Victoria has more than double the number of players of any other state in Australia accounting for approximately 42% of all Australian players in 2023 and continues to grow strongly. In 2023 there were 76 competitions and 1,242 clubs. With 235,970 registered players it is second only to Soccer. Though Australian rules has made up much ground lost to it over previous decades and today both codes have a similar number of players. The sport is governed by AFL Victoria based in Melbourne. The national governing body, the AFL Commission is also based in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Gibbs (Australian rules footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Bryce Gibbs is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club and the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Fraser Brown is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.

Glenn Manton is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and Essendon. Since leaving the AFL, he has been an author, media personality, youth advocate and professional speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in Europe</span>

Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.

Australian rules football in the Middle East describes the minority sport of Australian rules football as it is watched and played in the Middle East region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Sloss</span> Australian rules footballer (1889–1917)

Bruce Moses Farquhar Sloss was an Australian rules footballer who played as a follower with Essendon and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and with Brighton in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).

Huddersfield Rams is an Australian rules football team, based in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield, England. They were formed in November 2008 by Karl Haigh, who was introduced to the sport when travelling in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFL England</span>

AFL England is the governing body for Australian Rules Football in England. It was formed in 2012 to succeed AFL Britain with the aim to be more effective in governing the game in England, as both Scotland and Wales had developed their own autonomous bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football card</span>

An Australian rules football card is a type of trading card relating to Australian rules football, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. These cards feature one or more Australian rules football players. Cards are almost exclusively found in Australia as no top-level leagues are present outside the country. Prices for Australian rules football cards can be very high. This is illustrated for both vintage and modern cards such as an 1894 American Tobacco Company card featuring Essendon player Will Crebbin which sold for $10,110 in 2018 and a 2004 Select AFL Conquest Triple Brownlow Medallist signature card featuring Nathan Buckley, Adam Goodes and Mark Ricciuto which was valued at $3,000 in 2018.

References

  1. "FOOTBALL BORN IN GOLD RUSH ERA". Barrier Miner . Vol. XLVIII, no. 14, 255. New South Wales, Australia. 6 April 1935. p. 8 (SPORTS EDITION). Retrieved 18 April 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Saturday, December 28, 1861". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 28 December 1861. p. 4.
  3. Blueseum George F. Bowen
  4. Hurst, John. "Watterston, David (1845–1931)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  5. Williamson, J. (2003). Football's forgotten tour : the story of the British Australian Rules venture of 1888. Applecross, W.A.: J. Williamson. ISBN   0-9581018-0-9.
  6. The Clubs – The Complete History of Every Club in the VFL/AFL, editors G. Hutchinson and J. Ross, ISBN   1-86458-189-1
  7. Williamson 2003, pp. 138–140.
  8. "Athletic Jottings". Queensland Figaro And Punch . Vol. XIV, no. 335. Queensland, Australia. 20 July 1889. p. 3 (SUPPLEMENT TO QUEENSLAND FIGARO.). Retrieved 18 February 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  9. Scottish ARFL bounces back in 2009
  10. Huddersfield Rams win Australian Rules Haggis Cup at the sixth time of asking By Mel Booth for Yorkshire Live 23 APR 2015
  11. Greater Glasgow Giants. "What a massive success! The 2023 Haggis Cup is now over and what a day it was!". Instagram. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  12. "World Footy News World Rankings post 2022 European Championships - World Footy News".
  13. "The GWS rookie helping grow AFL in Papua New Guinea".
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2021 AFL Players Association Multicultural Map". AFLPA. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  15. "Matt wants to take on Tigers". carltonfc.com.au. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "118 players with multicultural background on AFL lists". World Footy News. 25 June 2012.
  17. A giant, a gent and a friend from The Independent 6 July 2011
  18. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2003). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (5th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 202. ISBN   1-74095-032-1 .
  19. "Interview With Jim Edmond". Woof.net.au. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  20. Morris, Bill (22 May 2009). "Dees' mistake a gift for Tigers". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  21. Tom Leather Australian Sports Museum
  22. Cazaly, Roy (1979). "Roy Cazaly (1893–1963)". Cazaly, Roy (1893-1963). Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 7.
  23. "Giant mystery behind Hoskin-Elliott's family history". AFL.com.au. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  24. "Past Player Profiles - A". essendonfc.com.au. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  25. 1 2 "Doug Fraser and the Bribery Scandal of 1910 : Blueseum - Online Carlton Football Club Museum". Blueseum. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  26. Deaths: Aitken, The Age, (Monday, 12 August 1907), p.1.
  27. de Bolfo, Tony (20 May 2011). "Carlton War Hero Emerges: Andrew Dougall".
  28. "blueseum" . Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  29. "Les MacPherson - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  30. McPetrie, Henry. "Henry McPetrie" . Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  31. "Bourne Identity: Constable Proudfoot - Sports - Time Out Melbourne". Au.timeout.com. 17 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  32. Donald, Chris (2002). Fitzroy: For the Love of the Jumper : 100 Players who Made the "Lions" Roar. Pennon Pub. ISBN   9781877029189.
  33. Fraser, Alexander John (1996). "Fraser, Alexander John (1892–1965)". Fraser, Alexander John (1892-1965) by LHS Thompson. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 14, (MUP).
  34. "Bob Cameron" . Retrieved 20 March 2014.