Scottish League Championship

The Scottish League Championship (currently the BT League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic rugby union league system within Scotland. Operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, the championship was founded in 1973 as the first formalized national league system within any home nations country. The new six division championship replaced the haphazard "unofficial championship" system that had been in operation until that time. Traditionally the championship has been dominated by teams from the Borders region, the sport's hotbed of popularity in Scotland. This is illustrated by the most successful clubs in the championships history, with Hawick RFC possessing 13 titles and Melrose RFC currently holding eight titles.

Unofficial Scottish Championship

Numerous forms of football were played in Scotland in the years prior to the introduction of the Rugby rules which were adopted for the boys of Edinburgh Academy in the early 1850s. The game spread to Merchiston and the Royal High School with inter school games beginning in 1858. In 1857 the former pupils of Edinburgh Academy formed the first club in Scotland. The game spread and by the end of the 1860s the Academicals opponents included Edinburgh University, St Andrews University, the Merchistonians, Royal HSFP, West of Scotland FC, Glasgow Academicals, Edinburgh Wanderers and Glasgow University

As inter club games became more commonplace in the mid-1860s the club with the most successful record in club matches was recognised as the Scottish club champion on an unofficial basis. By the 1870s the Scotsman newspaper would declare the champion Scottish club in its annual review of the football season.The championship was always awarded on the basis of the results between the teams in the championship table only which meant that games against clubs from England or further afield were not counted. Up until 1939 the honour was awarded to the club with the fewest defeats, which led to several seasons where the championship was shared. After 1945 it became more commonplace to determine the champion club based on the percentage of games won.

The Edinburgh Academicals won the first five championships by virtue of being undefeated in club games between 1865–66 and 1869-70. The Academicals retained the championship in 1870-71 as a result of having the best record amongst the Scottish clubs despite the loss of two matches. Glasgow Academicals won the inaugural fixture with the Edinburgh Academicals in 1871-72, and, by remaining undefeated in their other fixtures wrested the championship from Edinburgh for the first time.

The championship grew over the course of its history as more clubs attained ‘first class status’. In 1909 the championship was contested by eight Edinburgh clubs, seven Glasgow clubs and seven in the Borders. Edinburgh were represented by Edinburgh Academicals, Royal HSFP, Edinburgh Institution FP, Watsonians, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh Wanderers, Stewarts FP & Heriots FP. The Glasgow clubs were Glasgow Academicals, Clydesdale, Greenock Wanderers, West of Scotland, Kelvinside Academicals, Glasgow HSFP and Glasgow University whilst the Border representatives were Hawick, Gala, Jed-Forest Melrose, Selkirk, Kelso and Langholm.

Hillhead HSFP joined the championship in 1913-14 which was to be the last championship season for Clydesdale who were unable to continue after the first world war. The championship was unchanged until 1929 when Dunfermline became the first club from the North & Midlands to be included.The 1930s saw St Andrew’s University added to the championship in 1936-37, Edinburgh Institution FP renamed as Melville College FP, following the school’s relocation in 1937-68, and in 1938-39 Hutcheson’s GSFP and Allan Glen’s FP ascended to the championship with Allan Glen’s heading the table in their first season.

The post war years saw Kelvinside and West of Scotland combine until 1950-51 whilst Musselburgh and Aberdeen GSFP were newcomers to the championship. By the middle of the decade Boroughmuir FP had joined the table with Trinity Academicals, Jordanhill and Ayr following in the sixties. By 1972-73, the final season prior to the introduction of league rugby, Leith Academicals, Broughton FP and Perthshire were recognised as championship clubs.

Unofficial Scottish Champions 1865-66 to 1972-73

Unofficial Scottish Championship Wins by Club

SRU Championship

The Scottish Rugby Union created a formal six division championship from the 1973-74 season, the first within any home nations country. The union's full member clubs were allocated into the new divisions, an arrangement that suited some of the 'open' clubs but many of the older former pupils clubs found it difficult to compete successfully and were forced into going 'open' themselves in an attempt to attract the better players. The new open clubs retained their FP or Academical names and continued to play on school owned grounds whilst those who persisted with their founding membership rules declined or disappeared altogether. The Championship's impact on the national team was quickly apparent; with fewer players being selected from English clubs to represent Scotland. For the first time since the First World War, the domestic game was strong enough to produce an adequate number of players of genuine international class.

The early decades of Championship rugby were dominated by Hawick who were crowned champions for 10 of the first 14 seasons. Heriot’s FP became the first 'Former Pupil' and 'City' club to win the Championship in 1979, they had already attracted "outsiders"; their leading try-scorer was Bill Gammell, a Fettesian already capped by the Scotland national rugby union team while playing for Edinburgh Wanderers. The first twenty years of Championship rugby saw large crowds and continued success, this period is largely considered the peak of domestic rugby union within Scotland to date. The early dominance of clubs in the Scottish Borders has faded in recent years with the rise of clubs from the Central Belt; especially Glasgow Hawks and Ayr RFC.

During the Championships forty year history the Scottish Rugby Union and its member clubs have re-organised the competition several times, usually revolving around the number of participants in certain divisions. A complimentary knock-out cup competition was introduced from 1995 with Border clubs again dominating the competition, starting with Hawick defeating Watsonians in the inaugural final.

Championship and Cup Winners

Season	Championship Winners	Cup Winners
1973-74	Hawick
1974-75	Hawick
1975-76	Hawick
1976-77	Hawick
1977-78	Hawick
1978-79	Heriot's
1979-80	Gala
1980-81	Gala
1981-82	Hawick
1982-83	Gala
1983-84	Hawick
1984-85	Hawick
1985-86	Hawick
1986-87	Hawick
1987-88	Kelso
1988-89	Kelso
1989-90	Melrose
1990-91	Boroughmuir
1991-92	Melrose
1992-93	Melrose
1993-94	Melrose
1994-95	Stirling County
1995-96	Melrose	Hawick
1996-97	Melrose	Melrose
1997-98	Watsonians	Glasgow Hawks
1998-99	Heriot's	Gala
1999-00	Heriot's	Boroughmuir
2000-01	Hawick	Boroughmuir
2001-02	Hawick	Hawick
2002-03	Boroughmuir	Heriot's
2003-04	Glasgow Hawks	Glasgow Hawks
2004-05	Glasgow Hawks	Boroughmuir
2005-06	Glasgow Hawks	Watsonians
2006-07	Currie	Glasgow Hawks
2007-08	Boroughmuir	Melrose
2008-09	Ayr	Heriot's
2009-10	Currie	Ayr
2010-11	Melrose	Ayr
2011–12	Melrose	Gala
2012–13	Ayr	Ayr
2013–14	Melrose	Heriot's
2014–15	Heriot's	Boroughmuir

Official Scottish League Championship Wins by Club

• Hawick 12
• Melrose 9
• Heriot's 4
• Boroughmuir 3
• Gala 3
• Glasgow Hawks 3
• Ayr 2
• Currie 2
• Kelso 2
• Stirling County 1
• Watsonians 1

Scottish Cup Wins by Club

• Boroughmuir 4
• Ayr 3
• Glasgow Hawks 3
• Heriot's 3
• Gala 2
• Hawick 2
• Melrose 2
• Watsonians 1

Scottish League Championship, 2014-15

At the SRU AGM 2013 a motion was successfully put forward by Haddington RFC and seconded by Selkirk RFC which called for the leagues to be restructured into three nationalised, 12 team leagues below the Premier Division which would continue as a 10 team league.

National

Premier Division

2014–15 RBS Premier Division Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points	Notes
1	Ayr	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions
2	Boroughmuir	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2015-16 B&I Cup
3	Currie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2015-16 B&I Cup
4	Edinburgh Academicals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2015-16 B&I Cup
5	Gala	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Glasgow Hawks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Hawick RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Heriot's	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Melrose	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation Play-off
10	Stirling County	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated

National One

2014–15 RBS National One Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points	Notes
1	Aberdeen Grammar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promoted
2	Biggar RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion Play-off
3	Dundee High School FP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	GHA RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Hillhead/Jordanhill RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Jed-Forest RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Kelso RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Marr RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Peebles RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Selkirk RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Stewart's Melville FP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated
12	Watsonians RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated

National Two

2014–15 RBS National Two Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points	Notes
1	Aberdeenshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promoted
2	Ardrossan Academicals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promoted
3	Cartha Queens Park	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Falkirk	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Greenock	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Haddington	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Hamilton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Howe of Fife	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Kirkcaldy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Livingston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Musselburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated
12	Whitecraigs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated

National Three

2014–15 RBS National Three Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points	Notes
1	Dalziel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promoted
2	Dumfries	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promoted
3	Dunfermline	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	East Kilbride	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Irvine	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Hawick YM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Lasswade RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Murrayfield Wanderers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Perthshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Preston Lodge	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated
11	RHC RFC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated
12	West of Scotland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegated

Scottish Regional Leagues

Leagues not part of the Scottish League Championship

Certain leagues are not included in the system:

• The Border League, a historic and now supplementary competition involving clubs competing in the Championship
• The Grampian Alliance League, independent of the Championship (involving some 2nd XVs)
• The Highland Alliance League, also independent of the Championship (involving some 2nd XVs)

In addition, competitive rugby at universities, and rugby for 2nd and 3rd XVs, is organised separately, and in the case of 2nd and 3rd XVs on something of an ad-hoc basis (there having been a number of splits from The Scottish 2nd XV League in recent years). Note that the larger universities run their first teams in both the Scottish Championship, and in the university leagues.

See University Leagues in Scotland and 2nd XV Leagues in Scotland for further details.

Rugby union in Scotland Governing body Scottish Rugby Union National teams Men's Men's A B Club XV U-20 U-19 U-18 U-17 7's School's British and Irish Lions Women's Women's 7's Competitions International World Cup Six Nations Rugby World Cup Sevens Sevens World Series Commonwealth Games Sevens Grand Prix Series Professional Club Pro12 European Rugby Champions Cup European Rugby Challenge Cup Amateur Club Scottish League Championship Premiership National League Championship Leagues Regional Leagues - East, West, Caledonia Scottish Cup British and Irish Cup Border League Reserve Leagues University Leagues Women's Premier League Defunct Heineken Cup European Challenge Cup Grampian Alliance League Highland Alliance League SuperCup Professional teams Edinburgh Glasgow Warriors Border Reivers (disbanded) Caledonia Reds (disbanded) See also History League System Scottish international players Murrayfield Stadium Scotland Sevens Borders Sevens Circuit Melrose Sevens Melrose Cup London Scottish F.C. Calcutta Cup Centenary Quaich Hopetoun Cup