Edinburgh Academical Football Club

Last updated

Edinburgh Academical
Edimb academ fc logo.png
Full nameEdinburgh Academical Football Club
Union Scottish Rugby Union
Nickname(s)Accies, Acads
Founded1857;166 years ago (1857)
Location Edinburgh, Scotland
RegionEdinburgh
Ground(s) Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh (Capacity: 5,000)
Coach(es)Iain Berthinussen
Captain(s)Jamie Loomes
League(s) Scottish Premiership
2021–22Scottish Premiership, 4th of 10
Kit left arm white hoops.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body whitehoops.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm white hoops.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Team kit
Official website
www.edinburghaccies.com

Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Place, in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. The team is coached by Iain Berthinussen.

Contents

The club regularly fields three teams and is also involved with Broughton and Trinity Accies in the Edinburgh BATs initiative, a community amateur sports club providing youth rugby across northern Edinburgh.

History

The club was formed in 1857 and is the oldest surviving football club of any code in Scotland, [1] and the second oldest rugby union club in continuous existence in the world, behind Dublin University Football Club (founded 1854). They were one of the founding members of the Scottish Rugby Union.

The team for the 1878-79 season Edimburgh academicals 1878.jpg
The team for the 1878–79 season

In the 1873–74 season, they played ten matches, and won all of them. [2]

In season 2007–08, the club's 1st XV finished second in Premiership Division 2, thereby securing promotion to the Premiership Division 1. That same season they experienced a successful Scottish Cup run, reaching the final with victories over Premiership 1 teams Currie, Hawick and Boroughmuir. The team lost the final 24–13 to the Glasgow Hawks. The club played a match against the Barbarians in April 2008 to mark the club's 150th anniversary. [3] A book was also published that had been commissioned to celebrate the club's 150th anniversary, The Accies: The Cradle of Scottish Rugby. [4]

In season 2009–10 the club's 1st XV was relegated to Scottish Premier Division 2 after they lost to Heriot's FP in the last game of the season and on the same day Watsonian's beat Melrose.

In season 2010–11 the club were Premier 2 League champions and returned to the top level of Scottish club rugby, the Premier 1 League, for the 2011–12 season. They remained in the Scottish Premiership after the restructure of the Scottish league system.

Ground

Raeburn Place, home ground Raeburn Place, Edinburgh.JPG
Raeburn Place, home ground

The Accies' home ground, Raeburn Place, is the location of the first rugby international. Seven players of the original Scotland side were Academicals, including the captain, FJ Moncrieff. [2]

Honours

Men

Women

Notable players

British and Irish Lions

The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented the British and Irish Lions.

Scotland internationalists

The following (not previously listed above) former Edinburgh Academical players have represented Scotland at full international level in rugby union.

Other internationalists

The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented their nations at full international level.

Cross-Sporting internationalists

Cricket

The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented both the Scotland rugby union team and the Scotland cricket team. [14]

Rugby league

The following have represented Scotland at full international level.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West of Scotland F.C.</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Milngavie

West of Scotland Football Club is a rugby union club based in Milngavie, Scotland. Founded in 1865, West of Scotland are one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world, and one of the founding members of the Scottish Rugby Union. West have enjoyed a long and successful history, winning numerous Scottish Championships and producing an incredible number of international players, and a strong contingent of British and Irish Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melrose RFC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Melrose

Melrose Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club located in the town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders. The professional men's side competes in the Super 6 as the "Southern Knights". The club plays at the Greenyards.

Glasgow Hawks is an amateur rugby union team in Glasgow, Scotland. They were Premiership Division One champions for three consecutive seasons from 2003–04 to 2005–06.

Hawick Rugby Football Club is an semi-pro rugby union side, currently playing in the Scottish Premiership and Border League. The club was founded in 1885 and are based at Mansfield Park at Hawick in the Scottish Borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayr RFC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Ayr

Ayr Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club. Its professional men's side currently plays as Ayrshire Bulls in the Super 6 competition; and its women's side play in the Scottish Womens National One. The club also runs a "Club XV" which competes in the Tennent's National League 1, a 2nd XV "Ayr-Millbrae", which plays in the SRU West Reserve League Division 1, and various age group teams, from age 4, up to age 18.

Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose player Ned Haig. English side London Scottish are the current champions after beating Edinburgh Accies 29–12 in the 2019 final to win the event for the first time since 1965.

Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfield Wanderers.

The Scottish Premiership is the highest level of amateur league competition for Scottish rugby union clubs. First held in 1973, it is the top division of the Scottish League Championship. The most recent (2023) champions are Hawick who are also the most successful club who have won the competition thirteen times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Academicals RFC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Glasgow

The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union in 1873.

Trinity Academicals RFC, nicknamed "Trinity" or "Trinity Accies" is a rugby union club based in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, originally for the former pupils of Trinity Academy, Edinburgh. Trinity Accies competes in the East Division 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotland Club XV</span> Rugby team

The Scotland national Club XV rugby union team is one of several national rugby union teams behind the Scottish national side.

The Scottish Rugby Academy provides Scotland's up and coming rugby stars a dedicated focused routeway for development into the professional game. Entry is restricted to Scottish qualified students and both male and female entrants are accepted into 4 regional academies. The 2016–17 season sees the second year of the academy.

The 1986–87 Scottish Inter-District Championship was a rugby union competition for Scotland's district teams.

Hawick Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Hawick RFC, in Hawick, Scotland. The Hawick Sevens tournament started in 1886 and is the third extant oldest Sevens tournament in the world; behind Melrose Sevens (1883) and Gala Sevens (1884).

Gala Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Gala RFC, in Galashiels, Scotland. The Gala Sevens was the second of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1884, just behind the Melrose Sevens in 1883.

The 1898–99 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.

The 1947–48 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.

The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competitive games between the clubs.

The Scottish Rugby Academy provides Scotland's up and coming rugby stars a dedicated focused routeway for development into the professional game. Entry is restricted to Scottish qualified students and both male and female entrants are accepted into 4 regional academies. The 2020–21 season sees the sixth year of the academy, now sponsored by Fosroc.

The 2022–2023 Amateur Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition for Scotland's amateur district teams.

References

  1. Edinburgh Accies Club History, "Edinburgh Academical Football Club History". Edinburgh Academical Football Club. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 Bath, p86
  3. "Barbarians: A club in touch with history". The Scotsman. 8 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. Morrison, Ian (24 January 2009). "Book review: The Accies: The Cradle of Scottish Rugby". Scotland on Sunday. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. "Edinburgh Charity Sevens". 22 June 2019. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. "Highland Sevens". 10 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. "Edinburgh Borderers Sevens". 9 June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. "Broughton Sevens". 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  9. "Lismore Sevens". 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  10. "Haddington Sevens". 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  11. "Edinburgh Northern Sevens". 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  12. "Musselburgh Sevens". 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  13. "Edinburgh Northern Sevens". 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  14. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN   1-905326-24-6), pp 104, 105; note list shows initials not full names