Provinces District is a select Scottish 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 draws its players from outside the Glasgow District and Edinburgh District area. It is occasionally known as the Rest of Scotland or the North-South side. Founded in 1893, the Provinces District team - and its corresponding Cities District team - was created, thus halving Scotland's representative

area in two.

History

Formation

To include other players when selecting the international team, the Cities v Provinces District match was introduced by 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 the 1893–94 season. The match was first played on Saturday 23 December 1893. The Provinces District was deemed a 'Rest of Scotland' side; though the 'Rest of Scotland' term was fluid dependent on the opposition.

Introduction of the Anglo-Scots

The Provinces District started as just the combined districts of the North of Scotland District, Midlands District and South of Scotland District. When the

Anglo-Scots Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...

were formed, the Provinces would often just play a match against this side as well. However, the side was later often deemed as the 'Rest of Scotland' when playing the Cities District - this was a reflection that on these occasions the Anglo-Scots were often added to the side.

Partial list of games played against international opposition

Notable former players

Scotland Internationalists

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Provinces District Rugby Union Team Rugby clubs established in 1893 Scottish District sides