The Co-Optimist Rugby Club is an invitational rugby union club founded in 1924 by

Jock Wemyss Andrew "Jock" Wemyss (pronounced "Weemz") (22 May 1893, Galashiels – 21 January 1974, Edinburgh) was a Scottish rugby union player, who played at prop. Wemyss lost one of his eyes in World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 Novembe ...

, the former Scottish test player, together with George St Claire Murray, a rugby enthusiast from the

Watsonians Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, ...

club. The Co-Optimists have played against national fifteen-a-side teams including , and in the 1980s. The club also has a proud record at the

Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens () is an rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the s ...

tournament, finishing as runner-up to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in 1980, as a semi-finalist against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1981, and a quarter-finalist in 1986.

Club colours and emblem

The club colours are a navy blue jersey with white shorts and navy and white hooped socks. The Co-Optimist badge is a lion ''

couchant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figur ...

'' in blue on a white background.

Notable players

Many well-known international players have represented the club including:

Finlay Calder Finlay Calder OBE (born 20 August 1957) is a Scotland international former rugby union player. Rugby Union career Amateur career Born in Haddington, East Lothian and educated at Stewart's Melville College, Calder played at open side fla ...

, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gibson,

Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 c ...

, Scott Hastings, Andy Irvine,

Dickie Jeeps Richard Eric Gautrey Jeeps, (25 November 1931 – 8 October 2016), known as Dickie Jeeps, was an English rugby union player who played for Northampton having started his career with Cambridge Rugby Club. He represented and captained both the ...

John Jeffrey John Jeffrey (born 25 March 1959 in Kelso in the Scottish Borders) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He is an administrator for World Rugby. Rugby Union career Amateur career Jeffrey was educated at St. Mary's Schoo ...

Tom Kiernan Thomas Joseph Kiernan (7 January 1939 – 3 February 2022) was an Ireland international rugby union player. He won 54 caps for Ireland as a full-back between 1960 and 1973 and captained his country 24 times. At the time of his retirement he wa ...

Ian McGeechan Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE (born 30 October 1946) is a retired Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through hi ...

, Doddie Weir, Tony O’Reilly and Rob Wainwright.

Partial list of games played against international opposition

XVs

Sevens

Honours

Melrose Sevens Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose ...

** Champions (1): 1993 *

Langholm Sevens Langholm Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Langholm RFC, in Langholm, Scotland. The Langholm Sevens was the last of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1908. Held around the end of every April, the tournament is part o ...

** Champions (1): 1936 *

Jed-Forest Sevens Jed-Forest Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Jed-Forest RFC, in Jedburgh, Scotland. The Jed-Forest Sevens was the fourth of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1894, after the Melrose Sevens (1883), Gala Sevens (1884) ...

** Champions (1): 1940 *

Selkirk Sevens Selkirk Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Selkirk RFC, in Selkirk, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Selkirk Sevens began ...

** Champions (4): 1937, 1938, 1947, 1975 * Edinburgh Charity Sevens ** Champions (2): 1939, 1960 * Edinburgh Borderers Sevens ** Champions (1): 1925 * Glasgow High Kelvinside Sevens ** Champions (1): 1984

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , date=2016 , title=Co-Ops History , website=Co-Optimist Rugby , accessdate=15 May 2016 , url=http://www.co-optimistrugbyclub.co.uk/#!history/cmv , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920105808/http://www.co-optimistrugbyclub.co.uk/#!history/cmv , archivedate=20 September 2016 , df=dmy {{cite news , date=9 April 2016 , title=The HK 7s history , work=Fiji Times , url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=348886 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605143436/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=348886 , archivedate=5 June 2016 , df=dmy , access-date=15 May 2016 {{cite news , date= 18 March 2015 , title= Brazen behaviour: how fans like to party hard at Hong Kong Sevens , work= South China Morning Post , url= http://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/sevens/article/1736583/brazen-behaviour-how-fans-party-hong-kong-sevens , url-status= live , archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20170503181951/http://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/sevens/article/1736583/brazen-behaviour-how-fans-party-hong-kong-sevens , archivedate= 3 May 2017 International rugby union teams 1924 establishments in Scotland Rugby clubs established in 1924 Rugby sevens teams