Scotland Rugby Union: The Scotland Rugby Union, also known as the Scottish Rugby Union or the SRU is the governing body of rugby in Scotland. Rugby was introduced to the Scottish people in late nineteenth century.
In 1873, the Scottish Football Union or the SFU was established as the main organization governing rugby in Scotland. SFU was one of the major unions, who played important role in the foundation of the International Rugby Board or the IRB in 1886. The Scottish Football Union came to know as the Scottish Rugby Union or the SRU.
The first rugby match played by Scotland was recorded back in 1871. Initially, the matches were played on cricket fields. The SFU used to hire these fields for every match held there. A temporary set up for rugby matches was made at Raeburn Place. However, they soon felt the need for a ground of their own. In 1895, the Edinburgh Academical Club held back their decision of leasing Raeburn Place to the SFU. The Union finally bought a ground at Inverleith, Edinburgh in 1897. It was the first rugby ground in Scotland, which became operational in 1899. With growing popularity of the game, a bigger and well equipped field was immediately required. In 1922, a ground at Murrayfield was purchased. The ground was officially inaugurated in 1925. Currently it is the main home ground of the Scottish national rugby team. The SRU has assured that the field and its stands meet the international standard of the game.
The national rugby team of Scotland is governed by the Scottish Rugby Union or the SRU. There are three professional teams of Scotland, who represent the nation at the international level. The teams participate in Celtic League, Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. These three teams, also regulated by the SRU, are—
- Edinburgh Rugby: This professional rugby team of Scotland participated in the first inter-district rugby match of the world.
- Glasgow Warriors: The Glasgow Rugby played in the Heineken Cup for the first time during the 1997-98 season. Later the team was renamed as the Glasgow Warriors in the beginning of the 2005-06 season.
- Border Reivers: This team was initially known as “Scottish Borders Rugby”. The team has been later renamed as Border Reivers.
