Midlands District 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 central east Scotland, roughly corresponding from around

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, east to

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

and northwards to

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

and

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

. Historically the Midlands team played against other Scottish districts, and provided players to the

North of Scotland The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...

Midlands First and Last. John Methven. H.B Rutherford publishers. 1989 Often, the Midland and North Districts played in a trial match against one another to determine selection for the side. After the start of 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 ...

in 1953–54 season, the Midlands District complained to the Scottish Rugby Union that the North of Scotland District side which competed in that first championship had several Midlands players in its squad and that the Midlands should receive equal recognition for providing their players to the North of Scotland District team. The SRU agreed and the combined team became formally known as

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 ...

. The amateur North and Midlands side evolved into the professional

Caledonia Reds Caledonia Reds were a Scottish rugby union professional district team who participated in the Scottish Inter-District Championship and in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland ...

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

Formation

North of Scotland played a Midlands District side on 17 December 1881. The match was shared 1 goal apiece, but it was noted that there were also 2 touch downs in favour of the Midlands side. Dundee Institution F.P. played a Rest of Midlands side on 23 December 1882. The Midlands District as a formal district rugby union began in 1889. It was originally called the Scottish Midland Counties Football Union. It had a difficult birth. On its founding, the Scottish Northern Counties Football Union - as the North of Scotland District was then called - asked that the Midland Counties formally join the Northern Counties. The North of Scotland District had been founded two years before in 1887. The Scottish Rugby Union proposed that this matter be decided amicably between the two unions. This was not to be and matters came to a head following a dispute over a postponed match in 1892. The co-operation between the Unions broke and thus the Midlands District's independence was reinforced.

Teams

The Midlands District team which played Glasgow District on 21 November 1984. Glasgow won the match 11–10.
Report
The

Under 21 side played a Midlands District Under 21 side.
Report
The Midlands District played the North of Scotland for selection to the North of Scotland team that played in the 1953-54 Scottish Inter-District Championship.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-EpAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XoYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3163%2C2957361 The Midlands District side was itself selected after a trial match between Angus & Perth versus Fife.

Sevens tournament

The District used to run an annual Sevens tournament.http://www.rugbyrelics.com/images/999/9m/01.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midlands District Rugby Union Team Scottish rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1889 Defunct Scottish rugby union Districts Scottish District sides

Formation

Teams

Sevens tournament

See also

References