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The Scottish Varsity

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The Scottish Varsity
Contested by
St Andrews RFC Edinburgh RFC
First varsity match 1860s
Annual event since 2011 (resurrected)
Current champion University of St Andrews, 24-13 (2024)
Location Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Current sponsor Royal Bank of Scotland
Trophy The Scottish Varsity Cup
Website scottishvarsitymatch.com

The Scottish Varsity, also known as The Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Varsity Match due to sponsorship reasons, is an annual rugby union fixture between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The universities are both founders of the Scottish Rugby Union. Fixtures began in the 1860s, making it the oldest varsity match in the world in a code of football.[1][a]

The Scottish Varsity was resurrected in 2011 after a hiatus of over 50 years and was staged in London at the home of London Scottish RFC in order to build alumni relations.[5] In 2015, the match returned to Scotland in Murrayfield Stadium and drew a crowd of over 10,000 spectators.[6] In 2021, the match was played at University Park, the home of University of St Andrews RFC, due to Covid-19 pandemic crowd restrictions. The match is normally held in late September and has received coverage from Sky Sports, the BBC and IRB’s Total Rugby.[7]

Men's Results

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Varsity matches were initially held on St. Andrew's Day but have been moved earlier to late September, they have attracted notable attendees including her Royal Highness Princess Anne in 2012.[8]

No. Date Venue Score Winner
1 30 November 2011 Richmond Athletic Ground, London 32 – 0 Edinburgh
2 30 November 2012 Richmond Athletic Ground, London 28 – 8 Edinburgh
3 28 September 2013 Richmond Athletic Ground, London 24 – 15 St Andrews
4 27 September 2014 Richmond Athletic Ground, London 17 – 12 St Andrews
5 26 September 2015 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 27 – 26 St Andrews
6 24 September 2016 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 24 – 12 St Andrews
7 23 September 2017 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 31 – 7 Edinburgh
8 22 September 2018 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 26 – 15 Edinburgh
9 21 September 2019 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 62 – 0 Edinburgh
10 25 September 2021 University Park, St Andrews 18 – 5 St Andrews
11 24 September 2022 Peffermill, Edinburgh 24 – 14 St Andrews
12 23 September 2023 University Park, St Andrews 32 – 29 Edinburgh
13 21 September 2024 Edinburgh Rugby Stadium, Edinburgh 24 – 13 St Andrews


By total wins (Men's)

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Total matches St Andrews victories Edinburgh victories Draws
13 7 6 0

Women's Results

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In 2014, the inaugural Women's Varsity Match took place in the form of a 7-a-side match. It now continues to take place every year as a 15-a-side match. [9]

No. Date Venue Score Winner
1 27 September 2014 Richmond Athletic Ground, London 24 – 0 Edinburgh
2 26 September 2015 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 36 – 7 Edinburgh
3 24 September 2016 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 97 – 0 Edinburgh
4 23 September 2017 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 53 – 5 Edinburgh
5 22 September 2018 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 49 – 0 Edinburgh
6 21 September 2019 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 52 – 0 Edinburgh

By total wins (Women's)

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Total matches St Andrews victories Edinburgh victories Draws
6 0 6 0

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The University Match and The Boat Race were first held in 1827 and 1829 respectively and are also varisty matches.[2] The Cambridge and Oxford Athletic Games were first held in 1864.[3] However, the Oxford-Cambridge varsity matches in rugby union and association football were first held in 1872 and 1874 respectively although intercollegiate matches in association football date back earlier.[4] The 1869 Princeton vs. Rutgers football game was the first intercollegiate football game in the United States while the first intercollegiate rugby football game in the United States took place in 1874 when Harvard University played against McGill University.

References

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  1. ^ "Varsity match is coming home". Scottish Rugby News. 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Varsity". Oxford Living Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. ^ "The Varsity Match". World Athletics.
  4. ^ Harvey, Adrian (13 May 2013). Football: The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story. Routledge. pp. 41–45, 150–151. ISBN 978-1-134-26912-9.
  5. ^ "A Renewed Rivalry". The University of Edinburgh. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Students set for Varsity encounters at BT Murrayfield". Edinburgh Evening News. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  7. ^ "The Scottish Varsity Match". Saints Rugby.
  8. ^ "Scottish Varsity Match". University of St Andrews: Saints Sports.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "The Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Rugby Varsity Match | HISTORY". www.scottishvarsitymatch.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
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