Union Scottish Rugby Union | ||
Full name Scottish Exiles District | ||
Scottish Exiles is a select provincial rugby union team that draws its players mainly from England; however, this draw also extends to any Scots diaspora rugby players playing outside Scotland.
Contents
- Formation
- Touring sides
- Scottish Inter District Championship
- Change to Scottish Exiles
- Effect of professionalism
- Honours
- Partial list of games played against international opposition
- References
This 'non-native' district side was formerly called the Anglo-Scots but changed its name so to include Scottish rugby union players playing anywhere outside Scotland.
Formation
Formed as the Anglo-Scots it was treated by the Scottish Rugby Union as a distinct non-native District side.
Touring sides
The Anglo-Scots often played matches against international and non-international touring teams.
Scottish Inter-District Championship
The Scottish Inter-District Championship was established in the 1953–54 season. The Glasgow District, Edinburgh, South and North and Midlands sides would play off to see which district was best in Scotland. The Anglo-Scots District joined the Inter-District Championship from 1981.
Change to Scottish Exiles
With many Scottish players now playing further abroad than England, notably in France, the team's name was changed to better reflect the diaspora it represented in 1993.
Effect of professionalism
With the advent of professionalism in 1995, the Scottish Rugby Union realised that not even the best semi-professional Scottish club teams could compete in the new Professional Era in rugby union, which was beginning to gain great momentum in the professional leagues of the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere.
In an attempt to stay in touch with the leading nations the SRU formed four professional teams out of the four native amateur districts of Scotland in 1996. It was these newly professional teams that would represent Scotland in the Heineken Cup and in the Celtic League.
This meant the Scottish Exiles side was then excluded from the subsequent professional Scottish Inter-District Championship, as it's players were generally based in English professional sides.
The Scottish Exiles side still plays and is used as a gateway for recognition for Scottish-Qualified players, particularly in England, to signal their availability and desire to play for the Scottish national team.
Honours
Won Scottish Inter-District Championship: 2 (Season 1994–95 and Season 1995–96).
These were the last two seasons before the Scottish professional rugby union era began in season 1996–97.
Scottish Inter-District Championship
The Scottish Exiles, then as the Anglo-Scots, joined the Scottish Inter-District Championship in 1981.
They continued playing in the tournament until professionalism took hold in Scotland in 1996.
After 1996, the Scottish Inter-District Championship became a European Qualifying Tournament for the professional District sides. That meant that the Exiles could not join the Championship.