105-413: James Finlay (1852-1930) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Finlay played for Edinburgh Academicals . Finlay was capped for Edinburgh District , playing in the very first inter-city match in 1872 ; and captained the side in 1874 . He was capped four times for Scotland between 1871 and 1875, including the first ever international. He also played for Edinburgh Academicals . He
210-535: A 0–0 draw, the last international match in which no points were scored. The Calcutta Cup was won 15–6, the first time since 1950 and they shared the Five Nations title in 1964 with Wales. In 1971 the SRU appointed Bill Dickinson as their head coach, after years of avoidance, as it was their belief that rugby should remain an amateur sport. He was officially designated as an "adviser to the captain". Scotland were
315-576: A 10 match losing streak against Les Bleus . Scotland had a successful tour of Japan in June (winning both test matches), and during the Autumn Internationals recorded a third consecutive win against Argentina (their seventh recognised win overall against the Pumas). In the 2017 Six Nations , Scotland saw a marked improvement in performance with three home wins and two away defeats. This
420-415: A 15–9 victory before succumbing to Italy, avoiding the wooden spoon only on scoring difference. They then toured Argentina in the summer to play two tests against Argentina. They lost the first test 21–15, but won the second 26–14. In a dismal 2009 Six Nations campaign, Scotland won just one match for a second consecutive year (against Italy) and thus, on 2 April 2009 Frank Hadden resigned as head coach of
525-521: A Rob Andrew drop goal. In the third place play-off they were beaten by New Zealand. Scotland went through 1994 without a single win, but bounced back in 1995 to win their first three Five Nations matches. This run of wins included a 23–21 win away against France, courtesy of a last minute try and conversion by Gavin Hastings. This was Scotland's first win in Paris since 1969. The last Five Nations match
630-625: A decision of the SRU to defuse any possibility of a "national embarrassment" (which the Scottish press feared) caused by the crowd booing the latter anthem, as the Queen was visiting Murrayfield during the 1976 Calcutta Cup. Scotland have traditionally worn navy blue jerseys, white shorts and blue socks. On the occasion that Scotland is the home side and the opposing team normally wears dark colours, Scotland will use its change strip. Traditionally this
735-706: A further eight times. Scotland have won three Grand Slams (including the Triple Crown) in 1925, 1984 and 1990, in addition to a further seven Triple Crowns. They also contest the Calcutta Cup with England as part of the championship. Scotland were the winners of the last Five Nations in 1999, before Italy joined the competition to make it the Six Nations. The Triple Crown is awarded to the Scotland, England, Ireland or Wales national side if they can beat
840-627: A letter of challenge in The Scotsman and in Bell's Life in London , to play an England XX at rugby rules. This led to the first-ever rugby international match being played at Academical Cricket Club 's ground at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh , on Monday 27 March 1871. In front of around 4,000 spectators, the Scots won the encounter by a try (made by Angus Buchanan ) and a goal (made by William Cross ) to
945-681: A new stadium of its own, seating 82,000 in the southern suburbs of Paris, because of frustrations with their tenancy of Stade de France. However the project was cancelled in December 2016. France played their 2018 match against Italy at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille . In 2020, Wales played their final game at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli due to the Principality Stadium being used as Dragon's Heart Hospital in response to
1050-459: A poor showing in the 2011 Six Nations , winning just one match, a 21–8 victory over Italy. In the 2011 Rugby World Cup , Scotland struggled to beat Romania 34–24 and Georgia 15–6, before losing 13–12 to Argentina. Needing a win going into their final match against England in Auckland, they led 12–3 with a quarter of the game to go, only to lose out to a Chris Ashton try, going down 16–12. This
1155-471: A result, a new logo – a thistle containing a rugby ball – was designed in October 1990 by graphic designer Chic Harper (www.chicharper.com). This was launched on Thursday 22 November at Murrayfield, Edinburgh with a £1M sponsorship deal with Umbro. The new logo was first worn on the nation's shirts at Parc des Princes, Paris on Saturday 19 January 1991 with the name 'Scottish Rugby Union' below the thistle. This
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#17327769072281260-403: A season in 2001 with 229, and most tries in a season with 29. Wales hold the record for fewest tries conceded during a season in the Six Nations era, conceding only 2 in 5 games in 2008, but the 1977 Grand Slam-winning France team did not concede a try in their four matches. Wales hold the record for the longest time without conceding a try, at 358 minutes in the 2013 tournament. The Championship
1365-507: A second season. Until 1998, the competition had no title sponsor . Sponsorship rights were sold to Lloyds TSB Group for the 1999 tournament and the competition was titled the Lloyds TSB 5 Nations and Lloyds TSB 6 Nations until 2002. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group took over sponsorship from 2003 until 2017, with the competition being branded the RBS 6 Nations . A new title sponsor
1470-602: A solitary try scored by England (a points scoring system had not then been devised so only the goal counted towards the 1–0 score). England later won the return match at the Kennington Oval , London in the following year. The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club. The members had decided to disband: the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees which became available when
1575-437: A then record defeat. Scotland suffered 17 successive defeats between February 1951 and February 1955, scored only 54 points in these 17 games: 11 tries, six conversions, and four penalties. The teams from 1955 to 1963 were an improvement. There were no wins over England, but three of the games were drawn. Occasional wins were recorded against Wales, Ireland and France. 1964 was a good year for Scotland. New Zealand were held to
1680-558: A whitewash for Scotland, despite optimism amongst players and supporters beforehand. However, Scotland displayed improved performances in their World Cup warm-up games over the summer, with two wins over Italy and narrow defeats away in Ireland and France. Scotland played well at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England; qualifying from their group by beating Japan, USA and Samoa, although they lost to South Africa. Scotland played Australia in
1785-466: Is a white jersey with navy blue shorts and socks. For a brief period, when Cotton Oxford were the shirt sponsors, the white shirt was replaced by a bright orange one with orange and blue hoops on the sleeves. This was first used against the New Zealand Māori on 14 November 1998. This change strip was replaced by the traditional white one just two years later. Also during this sponsorship deal, purple
1890-795: Is run from headquarters in Dublin , Ireland by Six Nations Rugby Ltd. Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO, Tom Harrison , was appointed the CEO of Six Nations Rugby in January 2023 following the resignation of Benjamin Morel in November 2022. Morel had held the position of CEO since November 2018, replacing John Feehan, who stepped down after sixteen years as CEO in April 2018. Harrison's tenure as CEO commenced from April. 2023. Ronan Dunne
1995-482: The 2024 tournament . The tournament is organised by the unions of the six participating nations under the banner of Six Nations Rugby, which is responsible for the promotion and operation of the men's, women's and under-20s tournaments, and the Autumn International Series, as well as the negotiation and management of their centralised commercial rights. The Six Nations is the successor to
2100-819: The COVID-19 pandemic . In 2024, France was unable to use the Stade de France for their Six Nations home games due to ongoing preparations for its use in the 2024 Summer Olympics . Instead they played their three home matches at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille , Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille , and Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon . Overall Bold indicates that the team did not win any matches Match records (Six Nations era 2000–2024) Head-to-head records (Five Nations Championship) Ireland's Johnny Sexton holds
2205-544: The Calcutta Cup . In the 2006 Autumn internationals Scotland won two of three fixtures. They convincingly beat Romania and put up a solid first half performance against the Pacific Islanders . In the final match against Australia , Scotland failed to impress, with Australia winning 44–15. In 2007, Scotland became the first Six Nations team to lose at home to Italy, 17–37. This was Italy 's biggest ever victory over Scotland, home or away. Later that year,
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#17327769072282310-528: The Five Nations from the inaugural tournament in 1883, winning it 14 times outright—including the last Five Nations in 1999 —and sharing it another eight. In 2000, the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy , thus forming the Six Nations . Since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. The Rugby World Cup was introduced in 1987 and Scotland have competed in all ten competitions,
2415-540: The Grand Slam champions of the two previous seasons were the first visitors to Murrayfield. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change hands three times before Scotland secured a 14–11 victory which gave them their first-ever Five Nations Grand Slam. In 1926, Scotland became the first Home nation side to defeat England at Twickenham after England had won the Grand Slam five times in eight seasons. The outbreak of
2520-605: The Scottish Rugby Union in men's international rugby union . The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship , where they are the current Calcutta Cup and Doddie Weir Cup holders. They also participate in the Rugby World Cup , which takes place every four years. The history of the team dates from 1871, when the Scottish rugby team played their first official test match , winning 1–0 against England at Raeburn Place . Scotland competed in
2625-555: The Six Nations Championship , which is played against five other European nations: France, England, Ireland, Italy and Wales. The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883, with Scotland sharing the championship with England in 1886 before winning the title outright for the first time a year later. Scotland have won the title outright 14 times and shared the championship
2730-517: The 1946–47 season, although these were not formally recognised and no caps were awarded to participating players. In January 1946, Scotland played and defeated a strong New Zealand Armed Forces team by 11–6. Scotland resumed full international matches in February 1947, losing 22–8 to Wales at Murrayfield. The period after World War Two was not a successful one for Scotland. In 1951, the touring Springboks massacred Scotland 44–0 scoring nine tries,
2835-567: The 1993 edition, which is being retired as it represented the nations that took part in the Five Nations Championship. Ireland were the last team to win the old trophy and the first team to win the new one. A team that wins all its games wins the ' Grand Slam '. The Triple Crown may only be won by one of the Home Nations of England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, when one nation wins all three of their matches against
2940-482: The 20 players used in total throughout only two played for clubs outwith Scotland. Jim Telfer stood down after the Grand Slam to concentrate on his professional career as a school master. He was succeeded by his assistant, the former Hawick fly-half, Colin Telfer (not a relative). He lasted just over a year, enduring a whitewash in the 1985 Five Nations, before resigning to concentrate on his business. Derrick Grant
3045-653: The BBC Sport website and either on the BBC Red Button or late at night on BBC Two. On 9 July 2015, in reaction to bids by Sky for the rights beginning in 2018, the BBC ended its contract two seasons early, and renegotiated a joint contract with ITV Sport for rights to the Six Nations from 2016 through 2021. ITV acquired rights to England, Ireland and Italy home matches, while the BBC retained rights to France, Scotland and Wales home matches. By ending its contract early,
3150-521: The BBC saved around £30 million, while the new contract generated £20 million in additional revenue for the Six Nations. With the end of the contract nearing, speculation once again emerged in 2020 that Sky was pursuing rights to the Six Nations from 2022 onward; under the Ofcom "listed events" rules, rights to the tournament can be held by a pay television channel if delayed broadcasts or highlights are made available on free-to-air television. It
3255-645: The East Stand built in 1983, the new North and South stands in 1993 and a redeveloped West Stand completed in 1994. Murrayfield's record attendance of 104,000 was set on 1 March 1975 when Scotland defeated Wales 12–10 during the 1975 Five Nations Championship . This attendance stood as a world record until 1999 when 107,042 attended the Bledisloe Cup match between Australia and New Zealand in Stadium Australia . Scotland competes annually in
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3360-481: The Home Nations Championship (1883–1909 and 1932–39), played between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which was the first international rugby union tournament. With the addition of France, this became the Five Nations Championship (1910–31 and 1947–99), which in turn became the Six Nations Championship with the addition of Italy in 2000. England and Wales have won the championship
3465-472: The SRU had to wait until 2014 as club Clermont failed to reach an agreement with the SRU to release Cotter a year early from his contract. Scotland had a dismal 2014 Six Nations campaign; managing only one win (away in Italy), finishing second bottom and defeated 51–3 by Wales in the final match. Vern Cotter finally assumed his role as head coach, and in June of the same year Scotland won three tests against
3570-609: The Scots Guards (the latter both "belonging" to the monarch). " Flower of Scotland " has been used since 1990 as Scotland's unofficial national anthem. It was written by Roy Williamson of The Corries in 1967, and adopted by the SRU to replace " God Save the Queen ". In the first year of using "Flower of Scotland" as an anthem, Scotland walked onto the pitch at the beginning of the Five Nations Championship deciding match against England . This combination
3675-576: The Scottish Rugby Union from affiliating itself from any other whisky manufacturer. On 3 September 2007 it was announced that the then Rangers chairman Sir David Murray 's company would become the new shirt sponsor, in a deal worth £2.7 million over three years. In August 2011, the Royal Bank of Scotland took over as main sponsors of Scottish Rugby, after Sir David Murray's company decided to end their sponsorship. BT became
3780-523: The Second World War in September 1939 brought rugby union in Scotland to a halt. The SRU cancelled all arranged trial and international matches and encouraged the member clubs to carry on as best they could. Some clubs closed down, others amalgamated and carried on playing other local clubs and, sometimes, teams from the armed forces stationed in their various areas. Internationals resumed in
3885-555: The Six Nations are presented with the Championship Trophy. This was originally conceived by the Earl of Westmorland , and was first presented to the winners of the 1993 championship, France. It is a sterling silver trophy, designed by James Brent-Ward and made by a team of eight silversmiths from the London firm William Comyns. It has 15 side panels representing the 15 members of the team and with three handles to represent
3990-509: The Six Nations as a major event with cultural significance and enacted national and EU laws to ensure coverage would be available on free-to-air channels. In Ireland, each of Ireland's games in the Six Nations may be held by a pay television channel, if the match is delayed broadcast and in full on free-to-air television. RTÉ have broadcast the championship since RTÉ's inception and continued to do so until 2017, while TG4 televised highlights. However, in late 2015 RTÉ's free-to-air rival TV3
4095-798: The UK, the BBC has long covered the tournament, broadcasting all matches (apart from England home matches between 1997 and 2002, which were shown live by Sky Sports with highlights on the BBC) until 2015. In addition, Welsh language coverage of broadcasts matches featuring the Welsh team shown by the BBC are shown on S4C in Wales in the United Kingdom. Between 2003 and 2015, the BBC covered every match live on BBC Sport either on BBC One or BBC Two with highlights also on
4200-798: The United States, NBC Sports broadcasts matches in English. The tournament is also broadcast on DAZN in Canada, Premier Sports Asia in East and Southeast Asia , Sky Sport in New Zealand, Stan Sport in Australia and SuperSport in South Africa. In 2024 the Six Nations teams featured in a Netflix documentary Six Nations: Full Contact. In February 2024, the show was green lit for
4305-413: The away side. Scotland under the captaincy of prop David Sole went on to win 13–7,> and with it their third Grand Slam . The match against England in 1990 was also only the second time that Flower of Scotland was played at Murrayfield, having become Scotland's pre-match national anthem that year. SRU made NO money from sponsorship after their 1990 Grand Slam as their thistle was not registered. As
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4410-455: The championship since the 1950s. The Scots finally ended their losing run with a 36–20 win over Italy in Rome; John Barclay , John Hardie and Tommy Seymour all scoring tries. Scotland followed that win up with a victory over France at Murrayfield; Stuart Hogg , Duncan Taylor and Tim Visser scoring tries in a 29–18 win. It was Scotland's first victory over France since 2006, and also ended
4515-400: The championship. The Wooden Spoon is a metaphorical award given to the team that finishes in last place; a team which loses all their matches is said to have been "whitewashed". Since the inaugural Six Nations tournament in 2000, only England and Ireland have avoided finishing last. Italy have finished last 18 times in the Six Nations era, and have lost every match 12 times. The winners of
4620-481: The championship. Since then, ties have been broken by considering the points difference (total points scored minus total points conceded) of the teams. The rules of the championship further provide that if teams tie on both match points and points difference, the team that scored the most tries wins the championship. Were this decider to be a tie, the tying teams would share the championship. To date, however, match points and points difference have been sufficient to decide
4725-446: The club's funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for annually only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that time, over 100 matches have taken place. In 1882 the Home Nations Championship, the fore-runner of the modern Six Nations Championship was founded with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland taking part. The Scots enjoyed occasional success in
4830-688: The defence of Scotland against a night attack by Norwegian Vikings, one of whom let out a yell of pain when he stepped barefoot on a thistle, alerting the Scottish defenders. The Latin Nemo me impune lacessit ("No-one provokes me with impunity!" in English) is an ancient motto of the Kings of Scotland, and also of Scotland's premier chivalric order, the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, and of
4935-442: The eagerly anticipated Calcutta Cup tie against England at Twickenham, however, Scotland were thrashed 61–21. This was a record defeat against the English, and a result which ended their hopes of winning the Six Nations. In the last week, Scotland defeated Italy at Murrayfield with a 29–0 victory, securing fourth place in the tournament table. Gregor Townsend took over as head coach in June 2017. His first fixture as head coach
5040-497: The early years, winning their first Triple Crown in 1891 and repeating the feat again in 1895, and vying with Wales for dominance in the first decade of the 20th century. Further Triple Crowns wins for Scotland followed in 1901, 1903 and 1907. However, Scotland's triumph in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War (1914–1918) and England's dominance afterwards would deny them glory. In 1897 land
5145-779: The final rugby match at Croke Park , Scotland gained their only win of the tournament 23–20 with a last-minute penalty by Dan Parks , denying the Irish the Triple Crown and assuring they themselves would avoid the wooden spoon. That summer , Scotland toured Argentina and recorded their first ever away series victory, beating the Pumas in both tests, 24–16 and 13–9. In the Autumn Internationals of 2010, Scotland lost heavily against New Zealand before recording victories against South Africa, 21–17, and Samoa, 19–16. Scotland had
5250-429: The first World Cup , played in New Zealand and Australia in the summer of 1987 . John Rutherford , the team's general and controlling influence, had injured his knee on an unauthorised tour of Bermuda. He broke down after less than a quarter of an hour of the first World Cup match against France and never played for Scotland again. Scotland had been in the lead but the match finished level. Scotland lost to New Zealand in
5355-550: The first of the Home Unions to run a truly nationwide club league. This was introduced in 1973 and still flourishes today with several of the country's original clubs still very much in evidence, such as Heriots , West of Scotland , Watsonians and the famous ' border ' clubs such as Gala , Hawick , Jed-Forest , Kelso and Melrose . However the advent of professionalism saw Scotland's District championship abandoned and two 'Super Districts' formed, which have resulted in
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#17327769072285460-539: The first time since 1983 and securing the Calcutta Cup. On 13 February they lost their next match, against Wales, 25–24 at Murrayfield. In 2024 the Scotland Rugby Men's Team featured in a Netflix documentary Six Nations: Full Contact. The thistle is the national flower , and also the symbol of the Scotland national rugby union team. According to legend the "guardian thistle" has played its part in
5565-465: The first time since the First World War. Jim Telfer became national coach in 1980, inheriting a squad of genuine potential. In March 1982 Scotland won away in Wales for the first time in 20 years. Scotland toured Australia in July 1982 and won the first test, Scotland's first away victory against any of the big three Southern Hemisphere sides. After this, the 1983 season was a disappointment; losing their first three Five Nations matches. However,
5670-434: The first weekend in February and culminates on the second or third Saturday in March. Each team plays every other team once (a total of 15 matches), with home ground advantage alternating from one year to the next. Before the 2017 tournament, two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Unlike many other rugby union competitions, a bonus point system had not previously been used. A bonus point system
5775-454: The following matches have no additional trophy contested: As of the 2024 competition, Six Nations matches are held in the following stadiums: The opening of Aviva Stadium in May 2010 ended the arrangement with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) that allowed the all-Ireland governing body for rugby union, the Irish Rugby Football Union , to use the GAA's flagship stadium, Croke Park , for its international matches. This arrangement
5880-452: The last-ever Five Nations Championship in 1999 with a last minute win by Wales over England. However, in the 1999 World Cup they suffered a quarter-final defeat to New Zealand. Scotland endured a torrid Six Nations in 2000, losing their first four straight games. but won the final game against England 19–13 under captain Andy Nicol . Australian coach Matt Williams became the first foreigner to coach Scotland in 2003. However his tenure
5985-579: The majority of the game after Kepu's dismissal, inflicting eight tries on the visitors in what was the Australian hooker Stephen Moore 's final international game. Scotland won 53–24, their biggest ever margin of victory over Australia. In the 2019 Rugby World Cup , Scotland took an early exit with losses to both Ireland and the hosts. Scotland did however score ninety-five unanswered points across two wins against Samoa and Russia. On 6 February 2021, Scotland won their first game of that year's Six Nations tournament, defeating England 6 – 11 at Twickenham for
6090-426: The most recent being in 2023 , where they failed to reach the quarter-finals. Their best finish came in 1991 , where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off . Scotland have beaten all major rugby union playing nations except for New Zealand, the best result being two draws. As of 14 February 2024, Scotland are sixth in the World Rugby Rankings . In December 1870 a group of Scots players issued
6195-430: The most times, both with 39 titles, but England have won the most outright titles with 29 (28 for Wales). Since the Six Nations era started in 2000, only Italy and Scotland have failed to win the Six Nations title. The women's tournament started as the Women's Home Nations in the 1996 season . The men's Six Nations Under 20s Championship is the successor to the Under 21s tournament which began in 2004. The tournament
6300-400: The national leagues in 1973–74 was beginning to bear fruit; the standard of club and district rugby was higher than ever and players were more accustomed to experiencing pressure in matches where the result really mattered. Fewer players were being selected from English clubs to represent Scotland as the domestic game was producing an adequate number of players of genuine international class for
6405-452: The national side. On 4 June 2009, ex-England , Edinburgh and Bath coach Andy Robinson was named head coach in time for the 2009 Autumn Internationals . Scotland's form picked up with a 23–10 victory over Fiji and a memorable 9–8 win against Australia (the first win over the Wallabies for 27 years) at Murrayfield. In the 2010 Six Nations Scotland lost against France, Wales and Italy before drawing with England. Against Ireland, in
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#17327769072286510-425: The number fonts on the back of their kits were Arial rounded MT bold (or Oswald Bold, during the 2015 Rugby World Cup). Scotland play at Murrayfield Stadium which is the largest sports stadium in Scotland and with a capacity of 67,144 - the fifth largest in the UK. In the early years the Scottish rugby team played at Inverleith in the north of Edinburgh. In 1923 SRU identified 19 acres of land at Murrayfield in
6615-474: The other three 'Home Nation' sides in the Six Nations tournament of that year. Ireland is the current holder. Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (6NC; known as the Guinness Six Nations ) is an annual international rugby union competition between the teams of England , France , Ireland , Italy , Scotland and Wales . It is also the oldest sports tournament ever between Home Nations . The championship holders are Ireland, who won
6720-451: The others. The Triple Crown dates back to the original Home Nations Championship, but the physical Triple Crown Trophy has been awarded only since 2006, when the Royal Bank of Scotland (the primary sponsor of the competition) commissioned Hamilton & Inches to design and create a dedicated Triple Crown Trophy. It has since been won four times by Ireland and Wales, and three times by England. Several individual competitions take place under
6825-411: The primary shirt sponsor as part of the £20 million deal signed in 2014. In the summer of 2021 Peter Vardy Group replaced BT as principal partner and shirt sponsor. Between the 2007 Rugby World Cup warm up games and the 2013 South African quadrangular tournament, the fonts used for their number kit on the back of their kits were Crillee Extra Bold Italic. But since Macron took over as kit supplier,
6930-438: The quarter-final. On 27 June 1988, Ian McGeechan was appointed as head coach to succeed Derrick Grant who had retired after the end of the 1988 Five Nations series. Their greatest year in the modern era was 1990, when their season came down to one game, a Grand Slam decider at Murrayfield against the "auld enemy", England. Both sides had won all their Five Nations fixtures, and England were overwhelming favourites despite being
7035-430: The quarter-finals, and with 30 seconds remaining led 34–32. However, referee Craig Joubert then awarded the Wallabies a highly controversial penalty, later judged by the game's ruling body to be incorrect, which Bernard Foley scored to give Australia victory. Scotland lost their first two games in the 2016 Six Nations Championship , extending their losing streak in the Six Nations to nine matches, their worst run in
7140-401: The record for most points in the competition, with 566. England's Jonny Wilkinson holds the records for individual points in one match (35 points against Italy in 2001) and one season with 89 (scored in 2001). The record for tries in a match is held by Scotsman George Campbell Lindsay who scored five tries against Wales in 1887. England's Cyril Lowe and Scotland's Ian Smith jointly hold
7245-422: The record for tries in one season with 8 (Lowe in 1914, Smith in 1925). Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll has the Championship record for tries with 26. The record for appearances is held by Sergio Parisse of Italy, with 69 appearances, since his Six Nations debut in 2004. The most points scored by a team in one match was 80 points, scored by England against Italy in 2001. England also scored the most ever points in
7350-405: The side travelled to France for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They made their way through their group and reached the quarter finals, where they were knocked out by Argentina. Scotland opened their 2008 Six Nations campaign losing 27–6 to France at home. Pressure on Frank Hadden started to intensify after Scotland lost to Wales and then to Ireland. They then defeated England in the Calcutta Cup with
7455-511: The symbol of the Scottish team. In September 1993, a sponsorship deal was announced with The Famous Grouse , resulting in a sponsors' name being added to Scottish international players' kit for the first time in addition to the jersey manufacturers' emblem. In 1997 a new deal saw the Grouse logo appear on the Scotland jersey. Further deals followed and it became the longest association with a sponsor in world rugby. During this time, when Scotland played test matches in France, The Famous Grouse logo
7560-404: The team in December 2012. During the 2013 Six Nations , Scotland won their matches against Italy and Ireland to finish third, their best finish in the competition since 2006. On 3 May 2013, Johnson was named the first ever Director of Rugby for Scotland responsible for overseeing all rugby in the nation. On 27 May 2013, it was announced that Vern Cotter would become head coach of Scotland, but
7665-460: The three officials (referee and two touch judges). The cup has a capacity of 3.75 litres – sufficient for five bottles of champagne. Within the mahogany base is a concealed drawer which contains six alternative finials , each a silver replica of one of the team emblems, which can be screwed on the detachable lid. A new trophy was introduced for the 2015 Championship . The new trophy was designed and crafted by Thomas Lyte silversmiths and replaces
7770-522: The top players generally being unavailable for their clubs. These teams play in international club competitions such as the Heineken Cup and the Pro14 . On 1 March 1975, around 104,000 spectators watched Scotland defeat Wales 12–10 in a Five Nations match at Murrayfield. The attendance at the time was a World Record for a Rugby Union match, and remains the record attendance at Murrayfield. That win
7875-471: The top teams of the Americas , before being hammered by South Africa 55–6. The three autumn tests held at Murrayfield during November yielded wins over Argentina and Tonga, and a narrow defeat against New Zealand. The test against Tonga took place at Rugby Park , Kilmarnock , and was the first Rugby Union international to be played on an artificial surface . The 2015 Six Nations Championship ended in
7980-511: The tournament ended on a high when Scotland recorded only their second victory over England at Twickenham since 1938. Scotland then went on to draw with the All Blacks 25–25 in the late autumn. Scotland recovered their form in 1984 and achieved their second Grand Slam , and their first since 1925, under the captaincy of Jim Aitken . The team benefited from consistent selection – 12 players took part in all four Five Nations matches, and of
8085-598: The umbrella of the tournament. Some of these trophies are also awarded for other matches between the two teams outside the Six Nations. Only Scotland play for a 'rivalry' or challenge trophy in every Six Nations match, as well as for the oldest such trophy, the Calcutta Cup . Wales became the last nation to contest such a trophy, the Doddie Weir Cup in 2018, while the newest such trophy is the Cuttitta Cup introduced between Scotland and Italy in 2022. Currently
8190-413: The west of the city on which to build a purpose-built stadium, purchasing this from Edinburgh Polo Club. One stand and three embankments were constructed over the following two years with the first international match taking place in 1925 where 70,000 people watched Scotland win 14–11 against England, thereby securing both the championship and a Grand Slam. The stadium has been developed over the years with
8295-409: The years that followed. Scotland went on to share the 1986 Five Nations championship with France, each side winning three out of their four games. The series also saw Scotland thrash England 33–6 at Murrayfield; Scotland's record win over the English, at the time one point short of Scotland's best score in any rugby union international and England's heaviest defeat in over a century. Scotland went to
8400-526: Was Vern Cotter 's last tournament as head coach of Scotland, despite them also beating Australia 24–19 on the summer tour of the Southern Hemisphere. In their first 6Ns game, Scotland went in with confidence to win their first opening match for eleven years against Ireland in a close match at Murrayfield Stadium . This followed with a defeat in Paris to France. Scotland secured a win over Wales in their third game, Scotland's first since 2007. In
8505-487: Was Scotland's first win in Australia since 1982 and the first time in 30 years that Scotland defeated Australia more than once in a row. Scotland also recorded away wins over both Fiji and Samoa. During Scotland's 2012 Autumn Tests they suffered a series of defeats, versus the All Blacks , South Africa and most notably Tonga, which caused head coach Andy Robinson to resign. Scott Johnson became interim head coach for
8610-572: Was against Italy in Singapore where Scotland won 34–13. A week later Scotland defeated Australia 24–19 in Sydney, the second time in a row Scotland had won on Australian soil. The victory was made more notable by the list of absentees, such as Stuart Hogg and Grieg Laidlaw , who were in New Zealand on Lions' duty. The tour was concluded by a 27–22 loss to Fiji in Suva. Victory over Samoa in November 2017
8715-408: Was another Grand Slam decider against England; however, this time the English defeated the Scots 24–12, largely due to the kicking prowess of Rob Andrew . The third World Cup, held in South Africa, came in 1995 . Pool play saw a narrow defeat by France, thanks to an injury-time try, and Scotland finished second in the pool. They were eliminated in the quarter-final against New Zealand. Scotland won
8820-480: Was appointed as the Chairman for Six Nations Rugby in November 2021 with his tenure commencing from January 2022. Dunne has responsibility for the commercial and marketing operations for both the men's and women's Six Nations tournaments. One of the most important rugby union tournaments in the world, the Six Nations Championship is broadcast in various countries in addition to the six participating nations. In
8925-713: Was awarded the rights for every game from the Six Nations on Irish television from 2018 to 2021. In 2022 it was announced that RTÉ and Virgin Media would share broadcasting rights. In France, the entire Six Nations rugby tournament must appear on free-to-air television. France Télévisions has covered the competition in France. In Italy, Six Nations rugby matches involving the Italian national team must be broadcast on free-to-air television. Sky Italia broadcasts all matches while free-to-air TV8 only covers Italy fixtures. In
9030-469: Was both controversial and unsuccessful, marred by a string of poor results and fall-outs with coaches and players. In 2004 Williams attempted to introduce a controversial "Fortress Scotland" policy, whereby only those currently playing in Scotland were eligible to play in the national team. Meanwhile, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) came under new management, chief executive Phil Anderton (known as 'Firework Phil' for his pre-match entertainment spectacles)
9135-560: Was expanded in 2000 to become the Six Nations Championship with the addition of Italy. Following the relative success of the Tier 2 nations in the 2015 Rugby World Cup , there were calls by Octavian Morariu , the president of Rugby Europe , to let Georgia and Romania join the Six Nations due to their consistent success in the European Nations Cup and ability to compete in the Rugby World Cup . The tournament begins on
9240-457: Was explosive and Scotland went on to beat England 13–7 and win the Five Nations Championship with a Grand Slam. Before Flower of Scotland was adopted as national anthem, " Scotland the Brave " was played for Scotland in the 1987 Rugby World Cup . Said song was usually immediately played before God Save the Queen when Scotland was playing at home (during the entrance of the teams), as result from
9345-576: Was finally sacked on 25 April 2005. Frank Hadden , the head coach of Edinburgh Gunners , was appointed interim coach for the 2005 summer internationals against the Barbarians and Romania , winning both. On 15 September 2005, he was appointed national coach of the Scotland team. In the first match of the 2006 Six Nations campaign, against France, Scotland won 20–16, and this was the first time since 1999 that they had beaten France. Scotland also beat England 18–12 at home at Murrayfield to reclaim
9450-490: Was first played in 1883 as the Home Nations Championship among the then four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. However, England was excluded from the 1888 and 1889 tournaments due to their refusal to join the International Rugby Football Board . The tournament then became the Five Nations Championship in 1910 with the addition of France. The tournament
9555-480: Was first used in the 2017 Championship. The system is similar to the one used in most rugby championships (0 points for a loss, 2 for a draw, 4 for a win, 1 for scoring four or more tries in a match, and 1 for losing by 7 points or fewer). The only difference is that a team that wins all their games (a Grand Slam) are automatically awarded 3 extra points - to ensure they cannot be overtaken by a defeated team on bonus points. Before 1994, teams equal on match points shared
9660-464: Was followed by a breathtaking performance against New Zealand at a sold-out Murrayfield. Tries from Jonny Gray and Huw Jones brought Scotland to 17–22 with barely a minute to go, but it took a superb cover tackle from the All Blacks fly-half Beauden Barrett to prevent Stuart Hogg from scoring a winning try. A week later Scotland registered a record win over the Wallabies, who played with 14 men for
9765-434: Was introduced to the traditional blue jersey. This was a significant departure from the traditional colours of blue and white, although purple is inspired from the thistle flower. SRU made NO money from sponsorship after their 1990 Grand Slam as their thistle was not registered. As a result, a new logo – a thistle containing a rugby ball – was designed in October 1990 by graphic designer Chic Harper (www.chicharper.com). This
9870-401: Was launched on Thursday 22 November at Murrayfield, Edinburgh with a £1M sponsorship deal with Umbro. The new logo was first worn on the nation's shirts at Parc des Princes, Paris on Saturday 19 January 1991 with the name 'Scottish Rugby Union' below the thistle. This was soon replaced with just 'Scottish Rugby'. In recent times, the wording has been dropped altogether to leave only the thistle as
9975-465: Was leading the way back to financial solvency and implementing major reforms to reverse the decline of the game in Scotland , but he resigned in January 2005 after his boss David Mackay was forced to resign by the SRU's general committee. By April 2005, Scotland had won only three out of 17 matches under Williams. Following a review by the SRU and public criticism from several of his players, Williams
10080-479: Was made necessary by the 2007 closure and subsequent demolition of Ireland's traditional home at Lansdowne Road ; Aviva Stadium was built on the former Lansdowne Road site. During this construction, Croke Park was the largest of the Six Nations grounds, with a capacity of 82,300. In 2012 Italy moved their home games from the 32,000 seat Stadio Flaminio, to Stadio Olimpico, also in Rome, with a capacity of 72,000. The French Rugby Federation (FFR) had planned to build
10185-433: Was part of a run of nine successive wins at Murrayfield during the 1970s for the national side, but they were unable to transfer that form outwith Scotland, only managing two away wins during the decade. In 1977 Nairn McEwan succeeded Bill Dickinson as national coach. However, he was only able to win one international in his three years in charge. Nevertheless, rugby in Scotland was clearly developing. The establishment of
10290-717: Was purchased by the SFU at Inverleith , Edinburgh. Thus the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899 (Scotland 3–9 Ireland). International rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium which was opened on 21 March 1925. In 1925 Scotland already had victories over France at Inverleith (25–4), Wales in Swansea (24–14) and Ireland in Dublin (14–8). England,
10395-472: Was replaced by the initials "TFG" due to the Evin law that bans any alcohol advertisement (including in sports events) in France. In May 2007, after seventeen years, The Famous Grouse ended its shirt sponsorship with the team. The Famous Grouse did maintain a low profile link to the Scottish Rugby Union by becoming the main spirit sponsor. This deal is thought to be worth a tenth of the original cost and forbids
10500-562: Was reported that the bid for CVC Equity Partners to purchase a stake in the Six Nations was being hindered by a desire for a more lucrative broadcast contract; a call for the Six Nations to be moved to Category A (which requires live coverage to air free-to-air) was rejected. In May 2021, the BBC and ITV renewed their contracts through 2025. The BBC will continue to broadcast home matches from Scotland and Wales and all women's and under-20s matches, with ITV airing England, France, Ireland and Italy home matches. France, Ireland, and Italy listed
10605-436: Was soon replaced with just 'Scottish Rugby'. In recent times, the wording has been dropped altogether to leave only the thistle as the symbol of the Scottish team. The second World Cup took place in 1991 with matches shared between the Five Nations. Scotland won their pool, though the game against Ireland was close, and then beat Western Samoa in the quarter-final. They lost to England in the semi-final held at Murrayfield to
10710-578: Was sought for the 2018 tournament and beyond. However, after struggling to find a new sponsor, organisers agreed a one-year extension at a reduced rate. As the RBS brand was being phased out, the tournament was named after the NatWest banking subsidiary, becoming the NatWest 6 Nations . On 7 December 2018, Guinness was announced as the Championship's new title sponsor, with the competition to be named
10815-484: Was the brother of Arthur Finlay and Ninian Finlay who were also capped for Scotland. They all appeared together once in 1875, in the 0–0 draw against England at Raeburn Place : James winning the last of his four caps, while Arthur and Ninian gained their first caps. Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team ( Scots : Scotland naitional rugby union team , Scottish Gaelic : sgioba nàiseanta rugbaidh na h-Alba ) represents
10920-553: Was the first time Scotland had been knocked out in the group stages of the Rugby World Cup. Scotland's performance was weak during the 2012 Six Nations , picking up the wooden spoon and being whitewashed, despite promising moments, and falling to 12th, Scotland's lowest ever in the IRB rankings. Even after this whitewash, Scotland defeated Australia 9–6 in the 2012 Scotland rugby union tour of Australia, Fiji and Samoa . This
11025-433: Was then appointed head coach. In January 1986, a trial match between "Blues" (players expected to feature for Scotland) and "Reds" (emerging players with a possible international future) resulted in a shock 41–10 win for the "Reds". The "Reds" team included Gavin and Scott Hastings , Finlay Calder and David Sole , all of whom who would debut for Scotland in the Five Nations that year and feature prominently for side in
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