The Scottish Varsity

The Scottish Varsity
Contested by
St Andrews RFC Edinburgh RFC
First varsity match 1860s
Annual event since 2011 (resurrected)
Current champion Edinburgh, 32-29 (2023)
Location Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Current sponsor Royal Bank of Scotland
Trophy The Scottish Varsity Cup
Website scottishvarsitymatch.com

The Scottish Varsity, also known as The Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Varsity Match due to sponsorship reasons, is an annual rugby union fixture between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The universities are both founders of the Scottish Rugby Union and varsity fixtures have been held since the 1860s, laying claim to the title of the "world's oldest varsity match".[1]

The Scottish Varsity was resurrected in 2011 after a hiatus of over 50 years and was staged in London at the home of London Scottish RFC in order to build alumni relations.[2] In 2015, the match returned to Scotland in Murrayfield Stadium and drew a crowd of over 10,000 spectators.[3] In 2021, the match was played at University Park, the home of University of St Andrews RFC, due to Covid-19 pandemic crowd restrictions. The match is normally held in late September and has received coverage from Sky Sports, the BBC and IRB’s Total Rugby.[4]

  1. ^ "Varsity match is coming home". Scottish Rugby News. 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  2. ^ "A Renewed Rivalry". The University of Edinburgh. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Students set for Varsity encounters at BT Murrayfield". Edinburgh Evening News. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  4. ^ "The Scottish Varsity Match". Saints Rugby.