West of Scotland District is 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 draws its players from the West of Scotland. Founded in 1876, the West of Scotland District team - and its corresponding East of Scotland District team - was created, thus halving Scotland's representative

area in two. This was meant as an impetus to include players from beyond the original Glasgow District and Edinburgh District catchment areas. The West of Scotland District versus the East of Scotland District became the de facto trial match for the

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international team. It survives today, but only for age-grade.

History

Formation

To include other players when selecting the international team, the East v West 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 1875-76 season. The match was first played on 28 February 1876. On the advent of the East v West match, the Inter-City match between Glasgow District and Edinburgh District - previously a twice annual match - was cut down to one fixture per year.

Trial matches

The East v West match was used as the premier Trial match for the Scotland international side. Although intended to increase representation from outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh, as this was the premier trial match both Glasgow and Edinburgh players were eligible for selection for their corresponding West and East sides. Another Trial match, a Blues v Whites match was introduced in the 1877-88 season. The Blues v Whites match evolved into a 'Probables' v 'Possibles' match for Scotland selection. The East v West match remained the premier Trial match for Scotland until the late 1920s. It was at this stage that the Blues v Whites match overtook it in importance. The introduction of the

Scotland Probables Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

versus the Scotland Possibles trial match diminished the need for the East of Scotland District versus West of Scotland District again, and it continued in the 1930s as a junior trial match. 'Junior' matches were not age-related, but matches based on teams outwith the

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 ...

Age-grade format

The East v West match continued in its same format till 1948. It then switched to an age-grade format and was used for selecting the best Under 23 players for Scotland.

Hiatus

When the Scottish Inter-District Championship began its own grade tournament, the East v West matches were curtailed.

Resurrection

The West of Scotland District and East of Scotland District representative sides have recently been resurrected at age-grade levels. These matches are now used as trial matches to identify candidates for the

Scottish Rugby Academy The Scottish Rugby Academy, for sponsorship reasons the Fosroc Scottish Rugby Academy, is a national academy structure designed to give Scotland's young rugby stars a pathway into the professional game. The academy structure is based on 4 regiona ...

and potential

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 ...

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 ...

and

stars of the future.

Partial list of games played against international opposition

Notable former players

Scotland Internationalists

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West of Scotland District Rugby Union Team Rugby clubs established in 1876 Scottish District sides 1876 establishments in Scotland