Scotland Rugby

Scotland

Founded

1871

Arena

Murrayfield · 67,144 cap

The Scotland national rugby union team is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 18 March 2019, Scotland are 7th in the World Rugby Rankings. The Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the inaugural tournament in 1883, winning it 14 times outright—including the last ever Five Nations in 1999—and sharing it another 8. 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 eight competitions, the most recent being in 2015 where they were knocked out by Australia in the quarter-final. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off. Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup. Each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, with Scotland having last won in 2018.

Ireland Rugby

Ireland

Founded

1875

Arena

Aviva Stadium · 51,700 cap

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) in rugby union. They are ranked third in the world by World Rugby as of 18 March 2019. The team competes annually in the current Six Nations Championship, which they have won fourteen times outright and shared nine times in its various formats. The team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions (1999 and 2007). Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions. The Ireland national team dates to 1875, when it played its first international match against England. Ireland's highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Eleven former Ireland players have earned induction into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.