The University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club is an affiliated member of the University of St Andrews Athletic Union in

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 ...

, Scotland. The club runs four men's and two women's teams, which play in the university leagues.

History

It was founded in 1858, making it one of the oldest football clubs in the world. In 2008, the club celebrated its sesquicentennial year, marking its 150th anniversary. The club is one of the founder members of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) and is often quoted as being the birthplace of 'running and passing' rugby, a distinct tactical advancement from the initial 'solo break/kick and chase' tactics which characterised the early years of the game's development. The club's 1st XV play their home games at University Park, in the

British Universities & Colleges Sport British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

(BUCS) North Premier 2 North. In 2007, the 2nd XV were Scottish University Cup champions and currently play in BUCS Scottish Division 2A. In 2022, the 3rd XV won BUCS Scottish 4A, and a 4th XV was started for the first time. On 24 March 2012 the 1st XV won the RBS Caledonia Division 2 Midlands title, beating Kinross 75–0 to lift the trophy. They were promoted to Caledonia League 1 three weeks later, beating Moray RFC, Caledonia 2 North Champions, 21–0. In the 2013–14 season, they won BUCS 1A Scotland unbeaten, winning 9 games from 9. The 1st XV also defeated Edinburgh for the first time at the annual Varsity Match since it has been hosted at London Scottish's ground in Richmond. In the 2014–15 season, having pulled out of the regional league system, they only competed in BUCS leagues. The 1st XV won BUCS 1A Scotland again. In the 2021-22 season, the club were named Scottish University Sport Club of the Year after the men's 1st, 2nd and 3rd XVs all won their respective leagues. Notably the men's 1st XV also secured promotion to BUCS Premier 2 North and are currently on a two-game win streak in the Scottish Varsity Match against Edinburgh University.

Sevens

The club run the St. Andrews University Sevens tournament held annually every April. This is the largest student run sevens event in the country.

Notable former players

Men

St Andrews has produced 21 (Men's) international players: 19 for Scotland and 1 each for England and Ireland. Four of which have become British and Irish Lions: Tyrone Howe, Duncan Macrae, Chris Rea and

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...

. This means that St Andrews has produced more internationalists than any other Scottish university, bar Edinburgh.Jones, p126 Notably, St Andrews provided three players for the first ever rugby international: * Robert Munro; * Alfred Clunies-Ross; and *

J. S. Thomson John Shaw Thomson was a rugby union international who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match in 1871. Early life Thomson's father owned a clothing manufacturing business, Laird & Thomson, located in the Mile End area of ...

.Marshall, p144 Other subsequent international players include: *

Peter Anton Peter Anton (born 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an American artist and sculptor. Anton is known for his sculptures around the theme of candy. Exhibitions Peter Anton’s sculptures have been featured in solo exhibitions in Europe, the Uni ...

* David Bell *

Kim Elgie Michael Kelsey "Kim" Elgie (born 6 March 1933) is a former South African cricketer who played in three Test matches in the 1961–62 series against New Zealand. He was also a rugby union footballer, who played for Scotland eight times as a centre ...

, capped for Scotland, and also for South Africa at cricket. * Cameron Glasgow * C. C. P. Hill/Colin Hill * Damian Hopley represented England 1993 - 1995 * Rab Bruce Lockhart * Jon Petrie * Hamish Scott *

Ian Swan Ian Swan (14 July 1930 – 18 September 2004) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a Wing. Rugby union career Amateur career He played rugby at Madras College, his school. Moving to University, he played rugby for S ...

* Alex Thomson * D. J. Whyte/David Whyte * J. S. Wilson

Women

Scotland

The following former St. Andrews University RFC players have represented Scotland at senior international level.

Honours

Men

* The Scottish Varsity ** Champions (6): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022 * St. Andrews University Sevens ** Champions (1): 1942 * Waid Academy F.P. Sevens ** Champions (2): 1992, 1995 * Midlands District Sevens ** Champions (5): 1929, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1965

References

;Sources * Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) * Godwin, Terry ''Complete Who's Who of International Rugby'' (Cassell, 1987, ) * Jones, J.R. ''Encyclopedia of Rugby Football'' (Robert Hale, London, 1958) * Marshall, Francis, ''Football; the Rugby union game'', (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited) * Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of St Andrews Rugby Football Club Clubs and societies of the University of St Andrews, Rugby

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Rugby union in Fife 1858 establishments in Scotland Scottish rugby union teams