Edinburgh University RFC
Encyclopedia
Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 side based in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 which currently plays its fixtures in the top Scottish National League and the British Universities
Busa
Busa may refer to:*Busa language , a language used in New Guinea*Busa language , a language used in Africa*BUSA, the former British Universities Sports Association, now known as the British Universities & Colleges Sport...

 Premiership. It is one of the eight founder members of the Scottish Rugby Union
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...

. In the years prior to the SRU's introduction of club leagues in 1973 and the advent of professionalism in 1990's, EURFC was a major club power and it won the 'unofficial' Scottish Club championship several times.

History

Established in 1857, the Club now plays its home fixtures at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

's Peffermill playing grounds, having moved from its traditional ground at Craiglockhart
Craiglockhart
Craiglockhart is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east and Kingsknowe to the west...

 in the season 1982-83. Its first ever match was in December 1857 against Edinburgh Academicals FC - in 2007 the two clubs replayed that fixture to celebrate the 150th anniversary of EURFC's founding using replica period kit, ball and complying to the older rules.

EURFC has produced 72 young full-international (for major IRB countries
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...

) players whilst still students representing the Club; these include 1924 Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 400m Gold Medallist Eric Liddell
Eric Liddell
Eric Henry Liddell was a Scottish athlete, rugby union international player, and missionary.Liddell was the winner of the men's 400 metres at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris...

, 1904 British Lions
British Lions
British Lions may refer to:*Lions , the lion is a traditional symbol of Great Britain, although it also used as a symbol in various other cultures* British Lions , a 1978 album by former members of Mott the Hoople and Medicine Head...

 captain David Bedell-Sivright
David Bedell-Sivright
David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

- one of the seven EURFC representatives also to play as British Lions whilst still students representing the Club, and Norman Mair
Norman Mair
Norman G.R. Mair is a sports journalist and a former Scottish international rugby union and cricket player. He later became a journalist for The Scotsman on rugby and golf., and also wrote for Rugby World His daughter is Suzi Mair, who presents STV News at Six.Mair has always been outspoken in his...

 - the future legendary sports writer and Scotland cricketer. Many more of Rugby's international players worldwide played for the University prior to being capped from other clubs; these include Scotland and British Lions
British Lions
British Lions may refer to:*Lions , the lion is a traditional symbol of Great Britain, although it also used as a symbol in various other cultures* British Lions , a 1978 album by former members of Mott the Hoople and Medicine Head...

 greats Dan Drysdale
Dan Drysdale
Daniel "Dan" Drysdale was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for and the Lions.Born in Kippen, Stirlingshire Drysdale, went to George Heriots and also played for Heriot's FP,, London Scottish F.C. and Barbarian F.C....

, and Andy Irvine, both future SRU Presidents from Heriot's FP, David Johnston (Watsonians) who had also played as a contracted footballer for Heart of Midlothian FC, and the current Club coach Ian Barnes who won many Scotland caps from the Hawick
Hawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...

 club.

In 1871 Club member Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan (rugby)
Angus Buchanan was a Scottish international rugby and cricket player. One of the earliest Scottish players, he was capped for in 1871. He also played simultaneously for Royal High School FP, and the Edinburgh University RFC.He played in the first ever side, and scored the first try in...

 scored the first ever International try in the inaugural International match whilst representing Scotland versus England at Raeburn Place
Raeburn Place
Raeburn Place is the main street of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, and the name of the playing fields there.-Rugby:The first international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 March 1871 between England and Scotland. It was won by Scotland, though England got revenge...

. There were three current Club representatives in the Scottish brown jerseys on that day; the other two being J.Forsyth and J.L.H MacFarlane.

In 1901 after winning the Scottish unofficial championship, the Club provided an extraordinary eight members of the Scotland XV to defeat Wales that February. These were Bedell-Sivright, A.B Flett, A.N Fell
Alfred Fell
Alfred Nolan Fell MB ChB was an international rugby union player for Scotland as a member of Edinburgh University RFC....

, A.Frew
Alex Frew
Alex Frew was a rugby union forward who played three tests for Scotland and one test for South Africa, captaining them on that one occasion. His club was Edinburgh University RFC-References:...

, W.H Welsh, F.M Fasson, A.B Timms
Alec Boswell Timms
Alec Boswell Timms was an Australian-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers and Edinburgh University. Timms played international rugby for Scotland and was selected for the British Isles team on its 1899 tour of Australia.-Personal history:Timms was...

, and A.W. Duncan
Alexander William Duncan
Alexander William Duncan was a Scottish international rugby and cricket player.He was capped for between 1901-2. He also played for University of Edinburgh RFC.He also played for the Scotland national cricket team.-References:...

.

A great Rugby rarity happened in 1910 when EURFC player C.G. Timms
C.G. Timms
C.G. Timms was a Scottish rugby union player, who played for the Lions. He was one of the minority of players who was never capped for his country, who became Lions, in this case, ....

 had the distinction of representing the Club in that year and the British & Irish Lions on tour to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 without ever winning an international cap before or after. 'Charlie' Timms may have made up for his lack of international caps by going on to be awarded four Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

es in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 as a Medical Officer - another great and possibly unique rarity. His brother A.B Timms
Alec Boswell Timms
Alec Boswell Timms was an Australian-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers and Edinburgh University. Timms played international rugby for Scotland and was selected for the British Isles team on its 1899 tour of Australia.-Personal history:Timms was...

 was capped for Scotland from the Club in 1896, but by the time he was selected for the Lions
British Lions
British Lions may refer to:*Lions , the lion is a traditional symbol of Great Britain, although it also used as a symbol in various other cultures* British Lions , a 1978 album by former members of Mott the Hoople and Medicine Head...

 tour of 1899 he was then representing the Edinburgh Wanderers club.

The Club's influence waned in the 1930s, but a great revival took place in the 1950s, and 60s when the Club finished runners-up in Scotland's unofficial championship twice in 1963-64 and 1966-67 - in the latter year 28 out of the 34 matches played were won and the club which led the competition in April which was quite enough to win outright, was highly commended for sportingly arranging extra fixtures, one of which was lost to Hawick
Hawick RFC
Hawick Rugby Football Club is a semi-professional rugby union side, currently playing in the Premiership Division One and Border League. The team are based at Mansfield Park at Hawick in the Scottish Borders....

 who then just won that championship. In this time names such as current Scotland internationals John Frame, Ian Smith (who went on to score the famous Scotland try that defeated South Africa in 1969), and Harry Rea (an Irish cap) were to the fore.

The last international player from the Club was Jock Millican, thrice capped in 1972-73. This was after the decision had been taken by the Club's [all-student] committee to back the SRU proposal for a fully structured league system on the grounds that it would benefit Scottish rugby as a whole, but also in the full knowledge that this would inevitably pose great problems for the Club itself.

Until 1983 EURFC enjoyed regular home and away fixtures with Oxford
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...

 and Cambridge  Universities often with distinct success; many players have interchanged between the three University Clubs on graduations - two of many notable examples of this being Ian Smith
Ian Smith (Scottish rugby player)
Ian Scott Smith was a Scottish rugby union wing who played 32 Tests for Scotland and two Tests for British Isles. Although he was born in Melbourne, Australia, and bought up in New Zealand, Smith moved to England and ended up at Winchester College, Oxford University and Edinburgh University...

, 'The Flying Scot' who joined Edinburgh from Oxford
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...

 and played for 4 seasons from 1925, and Micky Steele-Bodger
Micky Steele-Bodger
Michael Roland "Micky" Steele-Bodger CBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played flanker for Harlequins, and the Barbarians, and is currently the President of the Barbarian Football Club....

 of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and Barbarians President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 fame - a 1947 Edinburgh postgraduate from Cambridge destined to become future Chairman of the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...

.
In this time EURFC also had regular fixtures with the University XV's of Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

, Newcastle, and other northern English Institutions. EURFC has often received and played against Clubs from all of the major Rugby playing countries

Current situation

The Club was the 2009 Scottish Hydro Electric Bowl winner defeating Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

 RFC in the final played at Murrayfield
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...

. When playing in Club league Rugby - as opposed to University fixtures, the 1st XV is referred to as the 'Blues' or 'EU Blues'. Players can only be selected if they are Edinburgh students and are available for matches on both Wednesdays and Saturdays.

In total EURFC runs 5 teams:
The 1st XV currently competes in Scottish National League Division 1
Scottish National League
The Scottish National League is the ice hockey league in Scotland.Seen as the third-tier of ice hockey, below the British Elite Ice Hockey League and the English Premier Ice Hockey League . However, its standard of play has been considered closer to the English National Ice Hockey Division One,...

.
The 2nd XV currently competes in Scottish Reserve League East Region Division 1.
The 3rd XV currently competes in Scottish Reserve League East Region Division 2.
The club also runs two further teams consisting mainly of first year students, the Freshers 1st XV(or 4th XV) competes in the SUSA
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....

 championships like the 1st to 3rd XV's and in the Student & U20s Development League Edinburgh; and the Fresher's 2nd XV(or 5th XV) competes in the intermural championship run by Edinburgh University Sports Union
Edinburgh University Sports Union
Edinburgh University Sports Union is the representative body of the 55 Full and 12 Associate Member Sports Clubs and its Members. Its Members are defined as:#matriculated students of the University...

 during the week.

In 2011, EURFC gained promotion to the BUCS
Bucs
Bucs or BUCS may refer to:*Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida*Pittsburgh Pirates, a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania*British Universities and Colleges Sport...

 Premier League B, they are the first Scottish side to feature that high for a few years, where they will compete with teams such as Nottingham Trent, Birmingham and Loughborough.

EURFC has also fielded an EURL (Edinburgh University Rugby League)team in the BUCS
Bucs
Bucs or BUCS may refer to:*Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida*Pittsburgh Pirates, a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania*British Universities and Colleges Sport...

 competitions.

Edinburgh University also has two ladies teams, run as separate club EULRFC. The first XV were 2009 semi finalists of the British Universities Championships, and have reached the quarter finals in both 2010 and 2011. They compete in the BUCS Northern Premier Division and Scottish Premier League. The 2nd XV team currently compete in the Scottish Universities Championship and the National Development League.

Touring

Edinburgh University RFC has a notable history of touring, a major tour to Japan was undertaken in 2008 where one of the games was televised. In June 2011, EURFC returned to a previously toured country in Brazil, celebrating 25 years since they had previously toured there, with two televised matches against the Brazil national rugby union team
Brazil national rugby union team
The Brazil national rugby union team is the national side of Brazil, representing them at rugby union. Brazil is a third tier rugby union side, and have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union has been growing substantially in Brazil since 2005 and the number of players is...

, one against a regionals side and another against Brazil's U23 side. As well as Japan and Brazil the Club has also had sides in USA, Ireland, Canada, France, Australia, Argentina and Spain in recent years.

Scotland International players

The following 55 members represented Scotland whilst being players at Edinburgh University RFC. The Club had 3 representatives in the first ever international match; Scotland v England 1871, one of whom Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan
Angus Buchanan, VC, MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:...

 scored the first ever international try.>
J.G. Abercrombie  1949 J.L. Allan 1952 D.R Bedell-Sivright
David Bedell-Sivright
David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

 1903 A.W. Black
Angus Black
Note: "Black Angus" or "Aonghas Dubh" is a nickname for Aonghas MacNeacailAngus "Gus" Black was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for and the Lions.He also played for Edinburgh University....

 1947 A Buchanan
Angus Buchanan (rugby)
Angus Buchanan was a Scottish international rugby and cricket player. One of the earliest Scottish players, he was capped for in 1871. He also played simultaneously for Royal High School FP, and the Edinburgh University RFC.He played in the first ever side, and scored the first try in...

 1871 H.H. Bullmore 1902 C.W. Cathcart 1872 H.F.T. Chambers 1888 I.F. Cordial 1952 L.R. Currie 1948 J.N.G. Davidson 1952 M.R. Dickson 1905 A.S. Drybrough 1902 A.W. Duncan
Alexander William Duncan
Alexander William Duncan was a Scottish international rugby and cricket player.He was capped for between 1901-2. He also played for University of Edinburgh RFC.He also played for the Scotland national cricket team.-References:...

 1901 H.L. Evans 1885 E.C. Fahmy  1920 F.H. Fasson 1900 A.N. Fell
Alfred Fell
Alfred Nolan Fell MB ChB was an international rugby union player for Scotland as a member of Edinburgh University RFC....

 1901 H.N. Fletcher 1904 A.B. Flett 1901
  J. Forsyth 1871 J.N.M. Frame 1967 R. Fraser 1911 A. Frew
Alex Frew
Alex Frew was a rugby union forward who played three tests for Scotland and one test for South Africa, captaining them on that one occasion. His club was Edinburgh University RFC-References:...

 1901 A.K. Fulton 1852 J.G.M. Hart 1951 R.A. Howie 1924 J.L. Huggan 1914 F. Hunter 1882 H.H.Johnston
Henry Halcro Johnston
Colonel Henry Halcro Johnston, C.B., C.B.E., D.L., D.Sc., M.D.C.M., F.R.S.F., F.L.S. was a rugby union international who as a member of Edinburgh University RFC, represented Scotland in 1877 and who went on to make a significant contribution to botany and horticulture hrough his meticulous...

 1877 E.H. Liddell 1922 W.R. Logan 1931 D.C. Macdonald 1953 J.S. Macdonald 1903 R. Macdonald 1950 J.L.H. McFarlane 1871 J.R. McGregor 1909 D.D. Mackenzie 1947 N.G.R. Mair 1951 J. Marsh 1889
  J.G. Millican 1973 R.H. Morrison 1886 C.S. Nimmo 1920 F.L. Osler 1911 W.A. Peterkin 1881 J. Reid 1874 A.R. Ross 1911 E.D. Simson 1902 I.S. Smith
Ian Smith (Scottish rugby player)
Ian Scott Smith was a Scottish rugby union wing who played 32 Tests for Scotland and two Tests for British Isles. Although he was born in Melbourne, Australia, and bought up in New Zealand, Smith moved to England and ended up at Winchester College, Oxford University and Edinburgh University...

 1924 L.E. Stevenson 1888 A.K. Stewart 1874 A.B. Timms
Alec Boswell Timms
Alec Boswell Timms was an Australian-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers and Edinburgh University. Timms played international rugby for Scotland and was selected for the British Isles team on its 1899 tour of Australia.-Personal history:Timms was...

 1896 W.H. Welsh1900 L. West 1903
 

International players for other countries

The following 18 players represented full international sides whilst representing Edinburgh University RFC>
J. B Allison 1899 S. B. B Campbell 1911 W. J. N Davis 1890 T. M Donovan 1889 R. S. F Henderson 1883 G. McConnel 1912 H. McVicar 1927   J. Marsh 1892 L. C Nash 1889 H. H Rea 1967 J. A. S Ritson 1910 T. Smyth 1908 M. R Steele-Bodger
Micky Steele-Bodger
Michael Roland "Micky" Steele-Bodger CBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played flanker for Harlequins, and the Barbarians, and is currently the President of the Barbarian Football Club....

 1947
  T. H Stevenson 1895 R. D Stokes 1891 A. S Taylor 1910 Sir Lancelot Barrington-Ward 1910 Phil Lucas 2009  

British & Irish Lions

Seven players have represented British & Irish Lions whilst still students representing the Club -
  • H. Brooks Three-quarter - 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
    1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
    The 1888 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was a series of rugby union games played by an unofficial British team against invitational teams in New Zealand and Australia...

  • J. Smith Forward - 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
  • David 'Darkie' Bedell-Sivright
    David Bedell-Sivright
    David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

     - 1903 British Lions tour to South Africa
    1903 British Lions tour to South Africa
    The 1903 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fifth tour by a British Isles team and the third to South Africa. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950....

     (toured but no test caps); 1904 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand
    1904 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand
    The 1904 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the sixth tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia...

     (captain)
  • C.G. 'Charlie' Timms
    C.G. Timms
    C.G. Timms was a Scottish rugby union player, who played for the Lions. He was one of the minority of players who was never capped for his country, who became Lions, in this case, ....

     - 1910 British Lions tour to South Africa
    1910 British Lions tour to South Africa
    The 1910 British Isles tour to South Africa was the eighth tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to South Africa. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950. As well as South Africa, the tour included a game in...

  • William Albert Robertson - 1910 British Lions tour to South Africa
  • Angus Black
    Angus Black
    Note: "Black Angus" or "Aonghas Dubh" is a nickname for Aonghas MacNeacailAngus "Gus" Black was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for and the Lions.He also played for Edinburgh University....

     - 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
    1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
    The British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950 was the first post-war tour made by the Lions; there had not been one since 1938....

  • Ranald Macdonald - 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
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