Emblem | Thistle | ||
---|---|---|---|
Union | Scottish Rugby Union | ||
Head coach | Gregor Townsend | ||
Captain | Sione Tuipulotu | ||
Most caps | Ross Ford (110) | ||
Top scorer | Chris Paterson (809) | ||
Top try scorer | Duhan van der Merwe (29) | ||
Home stadium | Murrayfield Stadium | ||
| |||
World Rugby ranking | |||
Current | 7 (as of 19 August 2024) | ||
Highest | 5 (2018 & 2023) | ||
Lowest | 12 (2015) | ||
First international | |||
Scotland 1–0 England (Edinburgh, Scotland; 27 March 1871) | |||
Biggest win | |||
Scotland 100–8 Japan (Perth, Scotland; 13 November 2004) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Scotland 10–68 South Africa (Edinburgh, Scotland; 6 December 1997) | |||
World Cup | |||
Appearances | 10 (First in 1987) | ||
Best result | Fourth place (1991) | ||
Website | scottishrugby.org |
The Scotland national rugby union team (Scots: Scotland naitional rugby union team, Scottish Gaelic: sgioba nàiseanta rugbaidh na h-Alba) represents 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 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, 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.[1]