Watsonian Football Club is a

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 ...

club based in Edinburgh and part of 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 ...

. The club is connected with

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...

as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, welcoming players of all abilities regardless of whether they attended the school or not. It is one of a small number of rugby union clubs entitled to call itself a 'football club', rather than a 'rugby football club'. Watsonians run a number of sides; the top male side plays in the FOSROC Super 6 tournament, the Women's side plays in the Tennents Scottish Women's Premiership Scottish Rugby's Women's League

Current squad

Table

Squads

Watsonians has four male squads and one ladies team who play in the following leagues: * Super 6 – FOSROC Super6 * 1st XV - Tennent's Scottish National League 1 * 2nd XV – Reserve League National 1 * 3rd XV – Reserve League East 2 * Ladies XV –

Women's Premiership The Women's Premiership, also called the RFUW Premiership was the top level of women's rugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by the Rugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season by Premier ...

1st XV – coached by Jason Riley 2nd XV – coached by Sam Rowlands. 3rd XV – coached by Johnny Sandlan. Club Captain – Emily Cotterill. Vice Captain - Jamie Hodgson. Vice Captain - Rory Hutton.

1st XV Team

The 1st XV team enjoyed a successful 2005–06 season, winning the BT Cup and finishing second in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

, Division 1. In 2012–13 season the club narrowly failed to return to the Premiership, finishing 3rd in the National League. In the most recent 2014–15 season they came 4th. The coaching team is led by ex-Scotland player Marcus Di Rollo. Scottish Club Champions : 1891–92, 1892–93, 1893–94, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1902–03, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1920–21, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1969–70, 1997–98 Division 2 Champions : 1990–91, 2002–03 Scottish Cup Winners : 2006

Ladies's Section

Watsonians
also has a women's team which play in the Premiership of the Scottish Rugby's Women's League. The ladies section was formed in 2001 by a number of players from different clubs around the city. The team are a 40 strong squad of female athletes and in the 2019/20 season are competing in the Scottish Women's Premier League for the third year in a row. They have achieved increasing success over the last few years, culminating in finishing second in the league and going on to play and win the National Sarah Beaney Cup Final on the main pitch at BT Murrayfield stadium in April 2019. This match formed part of the well-attended Scottish Rugby Silver Saturday showpiece event and represented the highest level of women's club rugby in the country; furthermore, this final was the first Scottish women's club game to be streamed live on BBC Alba. The team is coached by Freddie Main, supported by Scott Nightingale, Lucy Brown and Duncan Wilson and is currently captained by Rachel Bragg.

History – Last 125 Years

The Watsonian Football Club played its first game on 30 January 1875 against St George that ended in a draw. Right from the beginning the emphasis was on expansive play combined with enjoying rugby football both on and off the field. With this noble aim, Watsonians has evolved and achieved many successes to confirm its place as one of the leading clubs in Scottish Rugby. In 1876, Watsonians adopted the maroon & white colours it wears today and two years' later the Club moved to Myreside, named after a local farm. In 1877 the Club became a member of the Scottish Football Union (the SRU from 1924). Watsonians won their first

Scottish Unofficial Championship The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competit ...

in season 1891–92, but their greatest period of dominance came between 1908 and 1914 when they won the championship a further five times. The team of 1909–10 (pictured right) was undefeated against Scottish opposition during that season. On 4 March 1933, Watsonians opened their current home at

New Myreside Myreside Stadium is a sports ground in Edinburgh, Scotland. Often simply known as Myreside, Watsonians RFC have used this venue on the east side of Myreside Road as their home ground for rugby union matches since 1933. Edinburgh Rugby used it fo ...

with a victory over Royal High School FP. The Championship arrived at the new home in two of the next three seasons, but the club had to wait 33 years for the next success in season 1969–70. In season 1973–74 the National League was introduced and Watsonians were placed in Division 1, a position the club has maintained for 24 of the 26 seasons played. It speaks volumes for the spirit at Myreside that as a closed club Watsonians managed to preserve their standing in the higher echelons for many years. The Club relaxed their membership rules after relegation in 1989 and returned to the top level by going undefeated to win the Division II championship in 1990–91. Since their return to Division 1 Watsonians has regularly challenged for honours before regaining that elusive Scottish Championship again in season 1997–98.

Notable former players

Watsonian's first cap was

John Tod John Tod (1779March 27, 1830) was an American judge and politician who served as a Democratic-Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district from 1821 to 1823 and for Pennsylvania's 13th con ...

in 1884.''Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football'', p169 Since then Watsonians has fielded no fewer than 62 Scottish internationalists, including five Scotland captains and seven

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 ...

. Watsonians have had key roles in all of Scotland's three Grand Slams to date. In 1925 Watsonians forward A.C. Gillies played in three international matches and against he scored one try and kicked two conversions and against he converted a try with a superb kick from the touch line to help seal the victory in this game.

James Ritchie James Ritchie may refer to: * James Ritchie (rugby union) (1907–1942), Scottish international rugby union player * James Ritchie (naturalist) (1882–1958), President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh * James Ritchie (Massachusetts politician) (1 ...

represented Scotland in the six international matches of 1933 (

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

) and 1934. Against England in 1984, centres

David Johnston David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...

and

Euan Kennedy Euan Kennedy (born 30 July 1954 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. Rugby Union career Amateur career He played for Watsonians. Provincial career He played for Edinburgh District; and was part of t ...

scored both Scotland's tries en route to Scotland's first Grand Slam since 1925.

Gavin Gavin is a male given name originating from Scotland. It is a variation on the medieval name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk" (or falcon). Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. '' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is an e ...

and Scott Hastings played in every game of Scotland's successful Grand Slam season of 1990. In the never to be forgotten final game against England, Gavin's kick through set up the deciding try for

Tony Stanger Anthony George Stanger (born 14 May 1968) is a Scottish former international rugby union player. With 24 international tries, he was Scotland's joint record try scorer, along with Ian Smith, until that record was broken by Stuart Hogg in Novemb ...

and Scott made an outstanding try saving tackle on

Tony Underwood Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Malaysian-English parentage. Rugby career His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard Castl ...

. Gavin went on to captain Scotland and the

1993 British Lions In 1993 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. This was the last Lions tour in the sport's amateur era. The Lions were managed by Geoff Cooke, coached by Ian McGeechan and Dick Best, and captained by Gavin Hastings. The Lions ...

and until recently, Scott was Scotland's most capped player.

List of Watsonian Scotland Caps

* David Deas *

RF Kelly Robert Forrest Kelly (12 March 1907, Edinburgh – 23 February 1975, Edinburgh) was a Scottish rugby union player.
o ...

British & 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 ...

* A.C. Gillies, 12 caps. * JM Ritchie. *

* Norman Munnoch *

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

* Tom Smith * Jason White

* Grant McKelvey *

Stuart Grimes Stuart Grimes (born 4 April 1974) is a Scottish former international rugby player and captain. Grimes' previous clubs include Padova, Border Reivers, Newcastle Falcons, Caledonia Reds, Glasgow Warriors, Watsonians and Edinburgh University RFC ...

* John Howard Wilson *

Eric Milroy Eric "Puss" MacLeod Milroy (4 December 1887 – 18 July 1916) was a rugby union player who represented and Watsonians. He was capped twelve times for Scotland between 1910 and 1914, his first appearance coming as a surprise replacement for t ...

, 12 caps. * H.O. Smith, 11 caps * D.M. Bertram, 11 caps. *

Alex Angus Alexander William Angus (11 November 1889 – 23 March 1947) was a Scottish international rugby union and cricket player. Rugby Union career Amateur career He played club rugby for Watsonians.Bath, p104 Provincial career He played for Edin ...

, 18 caps. also played for

Scotland national cricket team The Scotland national cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, and also some other venues. Scotland became Associate Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1994

. * John MacCallum, 26 caps. * George Roberts (rugby union) * Marcus Di Rollo 21 caps * Kyle Traynor, 3 caps. * Donald Scott *

Louis Moritz Speirs Louis Moritz Speirs was a Scottish rugby union international who played ten times for his country and was part of the first official British & Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1910. Early life Louis Moritz Speirs was born on 23 Oc ...

* Graham Ross *

John Simson John Simson (1667–1740) was a Scottish "New Licht" theologian, involved in a long investigation of alleged heresy. He was suspended from teaching as Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow for his later life. Life He was born ...

* Robert Finlay * John Dallas * Robert Young * Alec Robertson * Jimmy Carmichael

Scotland 7s Internationalist Section

* Jack Ferguson * Andrew Skeen * Michael Fedo * Stuart McInally * Jamie Blackwood * Craig Sorbie * Nick Penny * Megan Gaffney * Bryony Nelson * Hannah Smith * Lana Skeldon * Andrew Turnbull

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 (11): 1905, 1906, 1907, 1914, 1926, 1935, 1936, 1945, 1976, 1996, 2018 *

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 ...

** Champions (3): 2016, 2018, 2019 *

Hawick Sevens Hawick Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Hawick RFC, in Hawick, Scotland. The Hawick Sevens tournament started in 1886 and is the third extant oldest Sevens tournament in the world; behind Melrose Sevens (1883) and Gala Sevens (18 ...

** Champions (4): 1906, 1950, 2004, 2018 *

Gala Sevens Gala Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Gala RFC, in Galashiels, Scotland. The Gala Sevens was the second of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1884, just behind the Melrose Sevens in 1883. Held around the start of eve ...

** Champions (7): 1905, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2016, 2017 *

Berwick Sevens Berwick Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Berwick RFC, in Berwick upon Tweed, England. The Berwick Sevens was the last of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1983; but the first in England. The main Borders Sevens to ...

** Champions (5): 2007, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2019 *

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 (8): 1905, 1906, 1956, 1963, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2017 *

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

** Champions (13): 1936, 1937, 1939, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1972, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2017 *

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

** Champions (4): 2005, 2008, 2009, 2019 *FOSROC Super 6 **Champions: 2022 *FOSROC Super 6 Sprint Series **Champions: 2022 *

Kelso Sevens Kelso Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Kelso RFC, in Kelso, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Kelso Sevens began in 1920. ...

** Champions (4): 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019 *

Kings of the Sevens The Borders Sevens Circuit is a series of rugby sevens tournaments held annually in the Scottish Borders. Originally the circuit consisted of 5 tournaments; Langholm Sevens being the last added in 1908. It is the oldest Sevens circuit in the world ...

** Champions (4): 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019 *

Walkerburn Sevens Walkerburn Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Walkerburn RFC, in Walkerburn, Scotland. The Walkerburn Sevens was the sixth of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1911, after the bigger events of the Border Sevens sprin ...

** Champions (4): 1939, 1940, 1941, 1959 * Morningside Sevens ** Champions: 1903

External links

Official site

References

* 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 Union Football'' (Robert Hale, London, 1976 ) * Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Watsonians Rfc Rugby clubs established in 1875 1875 establishments in Scotland Scottish rugby union teams Rugby union in Edinburgh Sports teams in Edinburgh