Scottish rugby union system
Domestic club rugby union within Scotland remains a predominantly amateur sport; however, semi-professional and professional outfits have been created in recent decades to participate in cross-border competitions.
Professional Outfits
With the advent of professionalism in 1995 the Scottish Rugby Union, just like the Irish Rugby Football Union, decided that existing club sides would be unable to compete with their counterparts in new cross-border tournaments such as the European Cup and Celtic League. It was decided by the Scottish Rugby Union that new professional teams would be created based on the union's four historic geographical districts and building upon the legacy/vehicle of the Scottish Inter-District Championship:
| Team | Representing District | Home Base | Professionally Active |
|---|---|---|---|
| Border Reivers | South | Galashiels | 1996 - 1998 and 2002 - 2007 |
| Caledonia Reds | North and Midlands | Aberdeen and Perth | 1996 - 1998 |
| Edinburgh | Edinburgh District | Edinburgh | 1996 - Present |
| Glasgow Warriors | Glasgow District | Glasgow | 1996 - Present |
The North and Midlands side was a de facto district based on the combination of The North and Midlands districts.
Domestic Rugby
Scottish League Championship
The Scottish League Championship is the annual, domestic league structure competed for by over 150 clubs at both national and regional levels. Restructuring before the 2014-15 season scrapped the regional Championship A & B leagues which sat below the National League for two seasons. The current structure is:
- The Premiership: 10 clubs, top four compete in a knock-out play-off to decide the Premiership champions, bottom team relegated and ninth-placed enter promotion/relegation play-off
- National League: 36 clubs in three divisions:
- Division 1: 12 clubs, winners promoted, runners-up enter promotion/relegation play-off, bottom two teams relegated
- Division 2: 12 clubs, winners and runners-up promoted, bottom two teams relegated
- Division 3: 12 clubs, winners and runners-up promoted, bottom three teams relegated to the appropriate Regional league
- Regional Leagues: 3 Regions (Caledonia, East and West) who organize their own league structures (though top divisions consist of 10 clubs), winners of each region are promoted
Structure
|
Level |
League(s)/Division(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Scottish Premiership | |||||
|
2 |
Scottish National League Division One | |||||
|
3 |
Scottish National League Division Two | |||||
|
4 |
Scottish National League Division Three | |||||
|
5 |
Caledonia Regional League Division One |
East Regional League Division One |
West League Division One | |||
|
6 |
Caledonia Regional League Division Two Midlands |
Caledonia Regional League Division Two North |
East Regional League Division Two |
West Regional League Division Two | ||
|
7 |
Caledonia Regional League Division Two Midlands |
Caledonia Regional League Division Two North |
East Regional League Division Two |
West Regional League Division Three | ||
|
8 |
Caledonia Regional League Division Four Midlands |
West Regional League Division Four | ||||
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Cup was introduced in 1995 as a complementary knock-out cup competition. Though the structure of the cup has been changed numerous times it is currently contested by all National League clubs in the first round, with Premiership teams being added in the second and third rounds. The main cup competition is supplemented by regional shield and bowl competitions which all culminate in a 'Finals Day' at Murrayfield Stadium.
Scottish SuperCup
During the 2006-07 season an extra cup competition (The Scottish SuperCup) was introduced to replace a loss of fixtures in the Premiership due to league restricting. With the reversal of this restricting the following season the cup became redundant and was abandoned after a single season.
British and Irish Cup
For the 2009-10 season a new cross-border tournament was introduced, the British and Irish Cup which would contain semi-professional clubs from the four home nations. Originally Scotland was represented by three sides but with restricting this has increased to four, who are determined by final positions in the League Championship.
Unincorporated Leagues
Scotland is also home to the oldest organised rugby union league in the world, the Border League, which was formed in 1901. The Border League does not take part in the pyramid structure to the National League, but all of its clubs play in both. Two small independent leagues remain, with only a handful of members: the Grampian Alliance League and the Highland Alliance League. For university and 2nd and 3rd XV leagues, see University Leagues in Scotland and 2nd XV Leagues in Scotland.
There are a small number of women's leagues in operation - see University Leagues in Scotland and SWRU League.