Glasgow District was a Scottish amateur rugby union team which now plays as the professional provincial side

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

. Founded in 1872 it was a select provincial amateur

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team that drew its players mainly from the

Greater Glasgow Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...

area, as well as others from the rest of the west of Scotland; roughly corresponding to the old

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

regional council area. Historically the Glasgow District team played matches against touring teams visiting Scotland from abroad, and also competed in the

Scottish Inter-District Championship The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...

. The Glasgow District rugby union team was founded in 1872. The team played the world's first inter-district match that year against Edinburgh District rugby union team. The amateur Glasgow District side evolved into the professional

side in 1996; one year after rugby union allowed professionalism in 1995.

Formation

The Glasgow District side was formed in 1872 to play against an Edinburgh District side. The teams met on 23 November 1872 at

Burnbank Park Burnbank Park was a sports ground in Glasgow, Scotland. It was situated in the city's Woodlands area, found at Barrington Drive (between Great Western Road and Woodlands Road).Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

and

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

sides play for the

1872 Cup The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby. Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby use selected ...

every year. The first Glasgow team in 1872:-

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
(Glasgow Academicals),
William Davie Brown William Davie Brown (29 May 1852 – 24 March 1876) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a full back. He played for Glasgow Academicals, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He was called up to the Glas ...
(Glasgow Academicals),
William Hamilton Kidston (West of Scotland)
William Cross (Glasgow Academicals), T. A. Drew (Glasgow Academicals)
George Buchanan McClure (West of Scotland), John Arthur (Glasgow Academicals) aptainbr />
John Kennedy Tod John Kennedy Tod (11 September 1852 – 2 June 1925) was a Scottish-American merchant banker. In his youth he was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1873–74 Home Nations rugby union matches and 1874–75 Ho ...
, Henry William Allan, Charles Chalmers Bryce,
George Raphael Fleming George Raphael Fleming (5 August 1850 – 13 December 1909) was a Scottish rugby union international player. He was born in Cathcart, Renfrewshire (now a suburb of Glasgow). Rugby Union career Amateur career Fleming played as a forward f ...
,
J.S. Thomson, J.K. Brown (all Glasgow Academicals)
James Howe McClure, J. Kennedy, J.P. Tennant, Robert Wilson, G. Hunter, A. Cochrane (all West of Scotland)
J.W. Reid (Glasgow University)

After the initial match at Burnbank, the games rotated - in the twice a season format - between Raeburn Place in Edinburgh and

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the 1872 Scotland v England football match, first international football match, betw ...

in Partick, Glasgow.

Selection of representative players

Often to aid the selection process of Glasgow District's players a trial match was played. In Glasgow's case a trial match of hopefuls were divided into Blues and Whites teams, so the players could impress the selectors. Glasgow also played a 'Rest of the West' team for selection.

Early history

The Inter-City

With the exception of the first four years, the Glasgow v Edinburgh district fixture was more or less played annually; only being beaten by World War and occasional inclement weather. Typically the Glasgow District side, in its early history, was crammed with Scottish international players. The Glasgow team for the 5 December 1874 match is an example:

William Davie Brown William Davie Brown (29 May 1852 – 24 March 1876) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a full back. He played for Glasgow Academicals, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He was called up to the Glas ...
aptainᵜ ,
James Stewart Carrick James Stewart Carrick (4 September 1855 – 2 January 1923) was a Scottish rugby union and cricket player. He died in Seattle, Washington in 1923. Carrick was a genuine all-round sportsman, playing international rugby as a full-back for , and a ...
ᵜ (both Glasgow Academicals)

Malcolm Cross Malcolm Cross was a Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, borde ...
ᵜ (Glasgow Academicals), William Hamilton Kidston ᵜ (West of Scotland)
James Howe McClure ᵜ , George Buchanan McClure ᵜ (both West of Scotland),

John Kennedy Tod John Kennedy Tod (11 September 1852 – 2 June 1925) was a Scottish-American merchant banker. In his youth he was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1873–74 Home Nations rugby union matches and 1874–75 Ho ...
ᵜ (Glasgow Academicals)

Gilbert Heron Gilbert Heron sometimes as Gilbert Haron (6 September 1854 – 18 March 1876) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a forward. He played for Glasgow Academicals, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He ...
ᵜ, Charles Chalmers Bryce ᵜ , Allan Arthur ᵜ , Henry William Allan ᵜ ,

George Raphael Fleming George Raphael Fleming (5 August 1850 – 13 December 1909) was a Scottish rugby union international player. He was born in Cathcart, Renfrewshire (now a suburb of Glasgow). Rugby Union career Amateur career Fleming played as a forward f ...
ᵜ (all Glasgow Academicals)

Tom Paterson Neilson Tom Neilson (22 October 1851 – 19 January 1909) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a forward. He played for West of Scotland, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He was called up for the Glasgow D ...
ᵜ ,
John Alexander Neilson John Neilson (14 June 1858 – 16 July 1915) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a forward. He played for West of Scotland before moving on to Glasgow Academicals. He was called up for the Glasgow District si ...
ᵜ , J.S. Kennedy, Preston (West of Scotland)
C.E. McArthur,
Henry Melville Napier Henry Melvill Napier (2 May 1854 – 18 December 1940) was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1876–77 Home Nations rugby union matches, 1877–78 Home Nations rugby union matches, 1878–79 Home Nations ru ...
ᵜ , W.B. Russell, J. Hutchison (Glasgow University)

''ᵜ Marked as Scottish internationalists.''

The first 15-a-side match was played on 29 January 1876. From the Inter-City formation in 1872, Edinburgh won the first two fixtures. Six draws followed, then came sporadic Edinburgh wins and draws. It wasn't until the 13th inter-city tie that Glasgow won the fixture. The first winning Glasgow side in 1881:

David Kidston (G. Academicals), A. J. W. Reid and C. W. Dunlop (West of Scotland),
John Alexander Neilson John Neilson (14 June 1858 – 16 July 1915) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a forward. He played for West of Scotland before moving on to Glasgow Academicals. He was called up for the Glasgow District si ...
(West of Scotland) and C. Ker (G. Academicals),
D. Y. Cassels aptain D. McGowan, A. Walker, R. Adam (West of Scotland),
R. B. Young, J. Lang (Glasgow University),
John Blair Brown, R. A. Kerr,
William Andrew Walls William Andrew Walls (29 December 1859 – 19 February 1936) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He became the 38th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. Rugby Union career Amateur career He played as a forward for Glasgow Acad ...
, G. H. Robb (G. Academicals).

Glasgow then held dominance until 1887 when once more Edinburgh won again. From the 1880s to the close of the 1890s Edinburgh won a total of only four times in 20-years. The tide turned back in Edinburgh's favour in 1898. With only a solitary Glasgow win in 1905, Edinburgh held sway until 1914.

Hamilton Crescent, New Anniesland, Old Anniesland

The games were postponed during the First World War period. After around 50-years at

– the West of Scotland ground in Woodlands, Glasgow – the Glasgow v Edinburgh fixture moved to Glasgow Academical's ground at

New Anniesland New Anniesland is a sports ground in the Anniesland area of Glasgow, Scotland, used for rugby union and cricket. Owned by The Glasgow Academical Club, a sports and social club for alumni of The Glasgow Academy, it is the home ground of Glasgow Aca ...

, Glasgow, in 1921. This move prompted yet another shift in balance as Glasgow once again became the dominant force of the two districts. The fixture moved to

Glasgow HSFP Glasgow HSFP are a former rugby union team that played their home games at Glasgow, Scotland. The team was founded in 1884 by former pupils of the High School of Glasgow. The team no longer exists. In 1982 it merged with the Kelvinside Academi ...

's ground

Old Anniesland Old Anniesland is a rugby union ground in Glasgow, Scotland, with a capacity of approximately 3,500.. It is the home of Glasgow Hawks, who currently play in the Scottish Premiership. It is also used by Glasgow High Kelvinside. History Original ...

in 1927.

Rugby Union

To coincide with the Scottish Football Union changing its name to the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

in 1924, the SRU made the Glasgow District Union into the Glasgow District Rugby Union that same year.

Touring sides

Glasgow often played matches against international and non-international touring teams. Occasionally both Glasgow and Edinburgh would field joint teams against the international touring teams. One strange example is that of the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

world tour in 1927–28. They played against Glasgow District on 12 October 1927. Due to collapse of the Queensland Rugby Union they effectively were a de facto Australian national rugby team at the time and the Australian Rugby Union have decreed that their international matches of that tour should be taken as full tests. In the match against Glasgow, the Waratahs won 10–0.

Scottish Inter-District Championship

Two other Scottish districts

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

North and Midlands North and Midlands - and now known as Caledonia - is a select provincial amateur rugby union team that draws its players mainly from north of Scotland, roughly corresponding from around Stirling northwards. Historically the North and Midlands te ...

had also been formed and there was regular matches between the four Scottish districts as well as against the touring sides. The

was established in the 1953–54 season. The Glasgow, Edinburgh,

and

sides would play off to see which district was best in Scotland. From 1981 an Anglo-Scots or Scottish Exiles team was also invited into this championship.
Glasgow v South 23 October 1973 match reportGlasgow v North and Midlands 4 January 1975 match report
Famously the 1989 Glasgow District side went through the entire 1989–90 season undefeated:- winning the

outright; drawing 18–18 with

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

away; winning 21–6 against

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

away; and winning against

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 ...

Glasgow Inter-District Championship-winning squad 1989–1990.

Graeme Smillie (Glasgow Academicals) Dave Barrett,
Matt Duncan Matt Duncan (born 29 August 1959) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. Rugby Union career Amateur career At club level, he played on the wing for West of Scotland. Provincial career He played for Glasgow District. He w ...
, Dave McKee ( West of Scotland), Ian Jardine,
George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...
, Kevin McKenzie, Brian Robertson, Stewart Hamilton (all Stirling County), Derek Stark, Phil Manning, David McVey (
Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
),
George Breckenridge George Breckenridge (born 5 September 1964) is a former Scottish rugby union player and now coach. He played for the amateur Glasgow District side before playing for the professional Glasgow side, now Glasgow Warriors. Rugby Union career Ama ...
, Ewan McCorkindale, Alan Watt,
Shade Munro Donald Shade Munro (born 19 November 1966, Paisley, Scotland) is a Scottish rugby union player, who played at lock/second row. Playing He spent two stints in New Zealand, in 1987 he played for club side Greytown where he went on to represent ...
, Fergus Wallace, Derek Busby (all
Glasgow High Kelvinside Glasgow High Kelvinside , often abbreviated to GHK, is an amateur rugby union club in Glasgow, Scotland. They currently play in Scottish National League Division One. History Glasgow High Kelvinside was formed in 1982 by the merger of Kelvins ...
), Stewart McAslan (
Glasgow Academicals The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union (the future SRU) in 1873. History Glasgow Hawks In 1997 the decision was made to ...
), David Jackson ( Hillhead Jordanhill).

Age grades

The

was also contested at Age Grade level. The Under 21 Glasgow District side won for the first time in 1986–87 season. With players like

Shade Munro Donald Shade Munro (born 19 November 1966, Paisley, Scotland) is a Scottish rugby union player, who played at lock/second row. Playing He spent two stints in New Zealand, in 1987 he played for club side Greytown where he went on to represent ...

, Andrew Garry, Gordon Mackay,

Gerry Hawkes Gerry Hawkes (born in Scotland), is a Scottish former rugby union player for Glasgow Warriors at the Wing position. His career spanned the amateur and professional era in rugby. In 1989 he was playing for West of Scotland but in the same y ...

and Murray Wallace in that side, it gave a good foundation for the 1989–90 season triumph and these young players later went on to represent the fledgling professional

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

side.

Effect of professionalism

With the advent of professionalism in 1995, the Scottish Rugby Union realised that not even the best semi-professional Scottish club teams could compete in the new Professional Era in rugby union, which was beginning to gain great momentum in the professional leagues of the Southern Hemisphere and the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. In an attempt to stay in touch with the leading nations the

SRU SRU may refer to: Organizations * Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island, US * Scottish Rugby Union * Shri Rawatpura Sarkar University, Chhattisgarh, India * Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, US * Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai ...

formed four professional teams out of the four amateur districts of Scotland in 1996. It was these newly professional teams that would represent Scotland in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and in the Celtic League. The amateur Glasgow District side was to become the professional

side. For the subsequent history of the professional Glasgow rugby district team from 1996, see

Records and Achievements

Honours

The Glasgow District won the

outright in 1955–56, 1973–74 and 1989–90. It also shared the

six times: 1964–65, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76 and 1977–78.Border Reivers v Glasgow 24 October 1997 match programme

Season standings

Inter-City

Glasgow score given first. ᵜ Previous to 1876 only goals counted; tries were ignored in the result. Scoreline key:

=Twice a season matches

= 1st 1872 - 73 match played at

Burnbank Park Burnbank Park was a sports ground in Glasgow, Scotland. It was situated in the city's Woodlands area, found at Barrington Drive (between Great Western Road and Woodlands Road).Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

;
2nd 1872 - 73 match played at

Raeburn Place Raeburn Place is the main street of the suburb of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the name of the playing fields there. Rugby The first ever international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 Ma ...

in Stockbridge,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

1st 1873 - 74 match played at

.
2nd 1873 - 74 match played at

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...

.
1st 1874 - 75 match played at

;
2nd 1874 - 75 match played at

.
1st 1875 - 76 match played at

;
2nd 1875 - 76 match played at

=Annual matches

= * 1885 match played at the 2nd Hampden Park - the modern Hampden Park is the 3rd park with that name. The 2nd Hampden Park was renamed as New

Cathkin Park Cathkin Park is a municipal park in Glasgow, Scotland. The park is maintained by the city's parks department, and it is a public place where football is still played. The park contains the site of the second Hampden Park, previously home to t ...

and taken over by

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

Scottish Inter-District Championship

The Inter-City match was then incorporated into the

. For Glasgow's professional championship results from 1996 see

; for results of later Glasgow - Edinburgh matches see

Partial list of games played against international opposition

Notable former players

British and Irish Lions from Glasgow District

The following former Glasgow District players have represented the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

Notable non-Scottish players

The following is a list of notable non-Scottish international representative former Glasgow players:

References

External links

Glasgow v South 8 December 1894 match reportSouth v Glasgow, 27 October 1964 Match ReportEdinburgh v Glasgow 4 December 1965 match reportGlasgow v Edinburgh 22 November 1966 match reportGlasgow v Edinburgh 14 November 1967 match reportGlasgow v Edinburgh match report 5 December 1981Rugby title without a trophy, early history of inter-city matches, Glasgow Herald, 2 December 1980History of Glasgow District matches, Glasgow Herald, 18 March 1981
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow District Rugby Union Team Scottish rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1872 Scottish Inter-District Championship teams

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Rugby union in Glasgow Scottish District sides

Formation

Selection of representative players

Early history

The Inter-City

Hamilton Crescent, New Anniesland, Old Anniesland

Rugby Union

Touring sides

Scottish Inter-District Championship

Age grades

Effect of professionalism

Records and Achievements

Honours

Season standings

Inter-City

=Twice a season matches

=Annual matches

Scottish Inter-District Championship

Partial list of games played against international opposition

Notable former players

British and Irish Lions from Glasgow District

Notable non-Scottish players

See also

References

External links