Scotland

The Scotland rugby team is one of the world's top rugby union sides. In addition to being one of the most successful teams in Six Nations history, Scotland also has a long and illustrious honours list.

Whether you want to discover more about Scotand's Six Nations record, their Rugby World Cup finishes or the team's most iconic players, browse below to discover more about the Scotland national rugby union team.

Scotland's Six Nations history dates back to the first Home Nations Championship in 1883. The original tournament was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. With the addition of France in 1910, the tournament became the Five Nations (France were then expelled in 1931 but rejoined once more in 1947). Then, when Italy joined in 2000, the tournament became known as the Six Nations.

Alongside Ireland and Wales, Scotland have contested every Home, Five and Six Nations Championship. To date, the Scotland Six Nations squad has recorded 14 outright titles and eight shared wins.

Scotland's first Home Nations win came in 1886, when they shared the title with England. Just one year later, the Scotland rugby team celebrated their first outright Championship win.

In addition, Scotland's Six Nation titles include three Grand Slams; they secured their first Grand Slam in 1925, their second in 1984 and their third in 1990. On top of this, Scotland's rugby Six Nations record includes 10 Triple Crowns, half of which they secured during the original Home Nations (1883-1909, 1932-1939).

Scotland at the Rugby World Cup

Scotland's Rugby World Cup record extends back to 1987, when the inaugural tournament was held. Since then, the Scotland national rugby union team has competed in every Rugby World Cup.

Scotland's best Rugby World Cup result occurred in 1991, when the team finished fourth. After soaring to the top of their pool, they defeated Western Samoa in the quarter-finals before falling to England at the semi-final stage. They then battled New Zealand in the third-place play-off. Although they delivered an excellent performance, Scotland were no match for the reigning champions and the game ended 13-6.

Aside from 1991, Scotland's Rugby World Cup campaigns have been moderately successful. They achieved quarter-final finishes in 1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. However, they exited during the pool stage in 2011, 2019 and 2023.

The very first Scotland national rugby union team can be traced back to the 1870s. This was when the first official international game was played against England - now a fierce rival - at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, in which the Scots came out on top.

In the years since this first victory, the Scotland rugby team has amassed a number of titles and famous wins. This includes various trophies within the Six Nations Championship. However, the Scots have yet to win the tournament in the modern era of the Six Nations; Scotland secured all of their titles during the Home Nations and Five Nations Championship eras.

Scotland secured their latest title in 1999, when they won the last edition of the Five Nations Championship. More recently, the squad has delivered some truly phenomenal performances. This led to Scotland being ranked at number five in the World Rugby Rankings in both 2018 and 2023.

Scotland Rugby Players

There are currently four past and present Scotland rugby players who feature in the International Rugby Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, eight players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. This roster includes legendary names like former Scotland captain Andy Irvine and former British Lions captain Gavin Hastings. 

The country's other rugby icons include centurions Ross Ford, Chris Paterson, Sean Lamont and Stuart Hogg. Meanwhile, the current Scotland rugby squad features a number of renowned players such as fly-half Finn Russell, winger Duhan van der Merwe and scrum-half Ali Price.