Scottish Rugby Union

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Scottish Rugby Union
Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba
Scottish rugby logo.svg
Sport Rugby union
Founded3 March 1873;150 years ago (1873-03-03) (3 March 1873;150 years ago (1873-03-03))
World Rugby affiliation1886 (founder)
FIRA-AER affiliation1999
Headquarters Murrayfield Stadium
Edinburgh
EH12 5PJ
Location 55°56′32.07″N3°14′27.38″W / 55.9422417°N 3.2409389°W / 55.9422417; -3.2409389
Patron Anne, Princess Royal
President Colin Rigby
Men's coach Gregor Townsend
Women's coach Bryan Easson
Sevens coach Ciaran Beattie
Website www.scottishrugby.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; Scottish Gaelic : Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league system, known as the Scottish League Championship, and the Scottish National teams. The SRU is headed by the President (Colin Rigby) and Chairman (John McGuigan), with Mark Dodson acting as the Chief Executive Officer. Dee Bradbury became the first female president of a Tier 1 rugby nation upon her appointment on 4 August 2018.

Contents

History

1873–1920s

The Scottish Football Union was founded on Monday 3 March 1873 at a meeting held at Glasgow Academy, Elmbank Street, Glasgow. [1] Eight clubs were represented at the foundation, Glasgow Academicals; Edinburgh Academical Football Club; West of Scotland F.C.; University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club; Royal High School FP; Merchistonians; Edinburgh University RFC; and Glasgow University. Five of these clubs were, at the time of founding the Scottish Football Union, already members of the previously instituted Rugby Football Union. Although the RFU now represents exclusively English clubs, in its first few years it had members from outside England, there being no other national union. West of Scotland, Glasgow Academicals and Edinburgh University had joined the RFU in 1871 and Edinburgh Academicals and Royal High School FP had joined in 1872. These five renounced membership of the RFU to join the SFU.

The SFU was a founding member of the one and only International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, in 1886 with Ireland and Wales. (England refused to join until 1890.)

In 1924 the SFU changed its name to become the Scottish Rugby Union. [2] International games were played at Inverleith from 1899 to 1925 when Murrayfield was opened.

1990s–present

The SRU owns Murrayfield Stadium which is the main home ground of the Scottish national team, though in 2004 international rugby games were played at Hampden Park in Glasgow and McDiarmid Park in Perth, as part of the SRU's campaign to reach out to new audiences outside the traditional rugby areas.

When the Heineken Cup (now replaced by the European Rugby Champions Cup) was suggested SRU officials were concerned that Scottish club sides could not compete against the best teams from France and England and that centrally funded so-called 'super-district' teams might do better.

The four traditional districts—the South (renamed Border Reivers), Edinburgh, Glasgow and the North & Midlands (rebranded as Caledonia Reds)—were given the go-ahead to take part in Europe. For the first two seasons, players were still released to play for their clubs in domestic competition, but eventually the districts became full-time operations.

Then financial difficulties – the SRU's high debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment of Murrayfield – called for retrenchment. After two seasons, financial difficulties forced the SRU to merge the four teams into two. Edinburgh merged with the Border Reivers to form a team to be known as Edinburgh Reivers. Glasgow merged with Caledonian to form a team to be known as Glasgow Caledonian.

The Borders was resurrected in 2002 and joined the second season of the Celtic League. As a consequence Edinburgh Reivers became simply Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow became Glasgow Rugby. [3] In 2005, all three teams adopted new names. The Borders readopted the name Border Reivers; Edinburgh became Edinburgh Gunners, but would revert to Edinburgh in 2006; and Glasgow became Glasgow Warriors. Furthermore, the SRU planned to have a world class rugby side for each city or large town in Scotland, when financial circumstances permitted. [4]

In 2007, The Borders team was disbanded yet again as a result of continuing financial difficulties. In the same year, the SRU began organising the Scotland Sevens, first held in Edinburgh and later in Glasgow. For several years, it was the final event in the annual Sevens World Series, but that distinction now belongs to London.

On 21 November 2009 Scotland beat Australia 9–8 after 17 attempts in 27 years.

Centenary celebrations

The SRU celebrated its centenary in 1973 with a number of events. Among these was the 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament, the first sevens tournament to have national representative sides. The programme for that event also sported the new coat of arms of the SRU that was granted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms on 28 February 1973, for the centenary season. The coat of arms is still in use today, but in the main the SRU use the commercial thistle logo on jerseys and stationary. The coat of arms has the motto "Non Sine Gloria", meaning "Not Without Glory".

Domestic Rugby

The SRU oversees the national league system, known as the Scottish League Championship, and consisting of:

It also oversees the Scottish Cup. It is not directly responsible for local, university or 2nd XV leagues.

Women's & Girls Rugby

See also Scottish Women's Rugby.

Since the Scottish Women's Rugby Union merged with Scottish Rugby in 2009 [5] the governing body also oversees Women's Fixtures. [6]

A National Cup competition:

Regional Cup Competition:

National teams

The SRU oversees Scotland's national teams. The most prominent team is the Scotland national rugby union team, which competes in the Six Nations tournament every year and in the Rugby World Cup every four years. The SRU also oversees the Scotland national sevens team, which competes every year in the World Rugby Sevens Series. And the SRU oversees the Scotland national women's rugby team.

The head coach of the Scotland national rugby union team is Gregor Townsend, who began in June 2017. [13] Scott Johnson is Director of Rugby. [14]

The head coach of the Scottish national women's rugby team is Shade Munro.

North American initiatives

On 28 March 2019, the SRU announced that it had taken a minority stake in Old Glory DC, a team set to begin play in Major League Rugby (MLR), the current top level of the sport in the United States and Canada, in 2020. [15] As MLR operates on a "single-entity" business model similar to the two countries' Major League Soccer, with the league owning all teams and the team operators being league shareholders, [16] this effectively meant that the SRU had taken a small stake in MLR itself.

Personnel

The current president is Colin Rigby who succeeded Ian Barr in 2022. John McGuigan was appointed Chair in May 2023. [17] The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Dodson. [18]

In May 2014, it was announced that Sheila Begbie had been appointed to the newly created post of Head of Women's Rugby, reporting directly to the Director of Rugby and she was due to commence this role in August 2014. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

Border Reivers, originally known as "Scottish Borders Rugby", and also known as The Borders, were one of four professional rugby union teams in Scotland, alongside Edinburgh, Caledonia Reds and Glasgow Warriors.

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

Edinburgh Rugby is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh plays the majority of its home games at Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.

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

Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became the first Scottish team to win a major trophy in rugby union's professional era. The side is known for its fast, dynamic and attacking style of play, using offloads and quick rucks. Defensively the club prides itself on its 'Fortress Scotstoun' where the club play at home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murrayfield Stadium</span> Rugby stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland

Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotland national rugby union team. With a seating capacity of 67,144, it is the largest stadium in Scotland, the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, and the twenty–second largest in Europe.

Peter Wright is a former rugby union player and now coach.

<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.

The South of Scotland District is a Scottish amateur rugby union team which plays in the amateur Scottish Inter-District Championship. It draws its players from the South of Scotland, mainly the Scottish Borders where there has always been a proud tradition of rugby union. Historically the South team played matches against touring teams visiting Scotland from abroad, and also competed in the Scottish Inter-District Championship. After rugby union became a professional sport in 1995, the team was replaced in 1996 by the new Border Reivers team based in the same geographical area as the South and who wore the same colours as the old team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Scotland</span> Popular team sport

Rugby union in Scotland is a popular team sport. Scotland's national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup. The first ever international rugby match was played on 27 March 1871, at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, when Scotland defeated England in front of 4,000 people. Professional clubs compete in the United Rugby Championship, European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup, while the Scottish League Championship exists for over 200 amateur and semi-professional clubs, as does a knock-out competition, the Scottish Cup. The governing body, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), is one of the ten first-tier member nations of World Rugby.

The Scottish Women's Rugby Union (SWRU) was the national governing body for women's rugby union in Scotland. It was responsible for the governance of women's rugby union within Scotland. Its role was all encompassing. It went from youth recruitment, through administrating all senior based competition, through to the performance and management of the Scotland women's national rugby union team.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caledonia Reds</span> Defunct Scottish rugby union club, based in Aberdeen & Perth

Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union team. They participated in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland, North and Midlands, in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rugby union in Scotland</span>

Rugby union in Scotland in its modern form has existed since the mid-19th century. Scotland has one of the oldest rugby union traditions and has introduced various innovations including rugby sevens.

Rugby union in the Scottish Borders has a long, and significant history.

Richie Dixon is a former rugby union footballer, the former head coach of the Scotland national team, the Georgia national team and Glasgow Caledonians. He was head of Physical Education at Currie High School in Edinburgh from 1972 until 1980.

The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.

The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats.

The 1998–99 season is the third in the history of the Glasgow Warriors as a professional side. During this season the young professional side competed as Glasgow Caledonians.

The Women's domestic rugby union leagues in Scotland are organised in a similar vein to the men's domestic leagues: on a national basis for the top leagues and regional leagues below feeding into those leagues.

The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three seasons, being disbanded after the Celtic League was set up.

Scotland's District rugby union sides are provincial representative teams, that in the amateur era capped the best amateur players from their area's club sides to play inter-district matches and matches against touring sides. These districts still survive at amateur level playing in an amateur Inter-District Championship and age-grade. The professional teams Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby remain provincial sides based on the traditional districts.

References

  1. ↑ "History of the game". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  2. ↑ MacDonald, Paul. "First Scottish Grand Slam". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "SRU Annual Report 2003-04" (PDF). Scottish Rugby Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2005.
  4. ↑ "SRU accused of becoming dictatorship". The Scotsman. 15 January 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Women vote to join up with the SRU".
  6. ↑ "Fixtures & Results - Scottish Rugby Union".
  7. ↑ "Fixtures & Results - Scottish Rugby Union".
  8. ↑ "Fixtures & Results - Tennent's Women's National League 1".
  9. ↑ "Fixtures & Results - Tennent's Women's National League 2". Scottish Rugby.
  10. ↑ "Fixtures & Results - Scottish Rugby Union".
  11. ↑ "Fixtures & Results - Scottish Rugby Union".
  12. ↑ "Inaugural women's Cup set for centre stage at BT Murrayfield - Scottish Rugby Union".
  13. ↑ Stuart, Lewis (10 June 2017). "Gregor Townsend era begins but pressures remain the same". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Ferguson, David (3 May 2013). "Scott Johnson appointed to SRU director role". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Scottish Rugby take minority stake in new U.S. team". ESPN.com. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  16. ↑ "Major League Rugby nears kick-off as next attempt to make US a union power". The Guardian. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  17. ↑ Elder, Matthew (17 May 2023). "Scottish Rugby appoint new chair as John McGuigan replaces John Jeffrey". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  18. ↑ Smith, Duncan (10 August 2015). "SRU chief Mark Dodson lauds 'big step forward'". The Scotsman . Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Sheila Begbie leaves women's football for Scottish Rugby role". BBC News. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.

 

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