Rugby union in Scotland in its modern form has existed since the mid-19th century. As with the history of rugby union itself however, it emerged from older traditional forms of football which preceded the codification of the sport. In the same manner as rugby union in England, rugby union in Scotland would grow at a significant rate to the point where Scotland played England in the first ever rugby union international in 1871, a match which was won by the Scottish team.
In 1883, Scotland would become a founding member of the annual Home Nations Championship with England, Wales and Ireland, (now the Six Nations Championship with the inclusion of France and Italy), and since its creation in 1987 have competed in every Rugby World Cup. Scotland took part in co-hosting the 1991 Rugby World Cup, alongside the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. The governing body of rugby union in Scotland, Scottish Rugby Union, is the second oldest organisation of its kind, having been founded in 1873.
Early history
Earliest rugby games
Until the mid-nineteenth century the distinction between rugby football and association football (soccer) did not exist in Scotland so both codes share the same history.
There is a long tradition of "football" games in Scotland, and many of these such as Jeddart Ba' bear more resemblance to rugby than association football, since passing and carrying by hand play a large part in them.
The Kirkwall Ba game still takes place, and involves scrummaging. Scottish soccer enthusiasts also cite these games as ancestral to their sport.
Unregulated School rugby
Several new schools were formed in Scotland during the first half of the 19th century, among them The Edinburgh Academy (1824), Loretto (1827), Merchiston (1833), Glasgow Academy (1845) and Trinity College, Glenalmond (1847). It is known that unregulated forms of football were played at all of these schools, but it was in Edinburgh that the handling game first took root and spread to other areas of the country.
Codified rugby comes to Scotland
Edinburgh Academy and the Crombies
Two young men, Francis Crombie and Alexander Crombie, came from Durham School to Edinburgh in 1854. Francis joined The academy as a pupil but Alexander had already left school. Apparently, the boys brought the knowledge of football from Durham School and this they passed on. Francis is recorded as having been the first school football captain and Alexander became actively involved in the formation of The Edinburgh Academical Football Club. He qualified for membership under a rule which allowed relatives of school pupils to become members. In 1858 he became the first captain of the Football Club - a position he held for eight years.
The High School in Edinburgh and Hamilton
During the same period, a boy named Hamilton came to The High School in Edinburgh (in 1856) from an English public school and brought with him the 'Rules of Rugby Football' as he had known them in the south. This document was instrumental in the High School's adapting their existing game to this new form.
First ever Schools match
The first-ever inter-school match recorded in Scotland was Royal High School versus Merchiston (in Edinburgh), played on 13 February 1858. However, the game suffered from lack of uniformity of rule and ball.
Standardisation of rules
In The High School, in the early 1860s, football was played with '...monstrous inflated globes of vast circumference and ponderosity...'.
H. H. Almond, a master at both Loretto and Merchiston, and a founding father of the game in Scotland, describing an incident in a Loretto versus Merchiston match, wrote: '...but so little did any of us, masters or boys, then know about it, that I remember how, when Lyall ran with the ball behind the Merchiston goal the resulting try was appealed against on the ground that no player may cross the line whilst holding the ball. The previous rule at Merchiston had been that he must let go of the ball and kick it over before he touched it down. It must be said in excuse for this and other similar sins of ignorance, that the only available rules were those printed for the use of Rugby School. They were very incomplete and presupposed a practical knowledge of the game.'
Disputes
Gradually, over several years, the game approached that then being played at Rugby. There were local variations which, inevitably, resulted in disputes.
H.H. Almond: 'well into the 1870s the only schools able to play each other on even terms were The Edinburgh Academy, Merchiston and The High School.'