London Scottish F.C.

London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club shares the Athletic Ground with Richmond. The ground-share is scheduled to last until the end of the 2020–21 season, after which Scottish will share Molesey Road in Hersham with Esher for at least two seasons.[1]

London Scottish
Full nameLondon Scottish Football Club
UnionMiddlesex RFU, Scotland RU
Nickname(s)The Exiles, Scottish
Founded1878 (1878)
LocationRichmond, Richmond upon Thames, London, England
Ground(s)Athletic Ground (Capacity: 4,500 (1,000 seated))
PresidentPaul Burnell
Director of RugbyMatt Williams
Coach(es)Stevie Scott
League(s)RFU Championship
2019–209th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
londonscottish.com

History

Founding (1878)

In early 1878, three Scottish members of a team called St. Andrew's Rovers FC decided to break away to form their own club for Scots.[2] These men, George Grant, Neil Macglashan and Robert Arnot attracted a number of responses to a circular they sent out. The London Scottish Regiment in particular were very warm to the idea. Very soon after, on 10 April 1878, London Scottish FC was founded[3] in The Queen's Head, in Water Lane Blackfriars London (universally known as MacKay's Tavern, frequently miss-recorded, as Ned Mackay the jovial Scottish landlord ran the pub),[4] initially played on Blackheath Common,[2] and later at Richmond Athletic Ground in Surrey.[3]

They had a sizable fixture list and played some of the leading clubs of the time immediately, such as Ravenscourt Park Football Club and Queen's House Football Club (the latter being the only London team to have never lost to London Scottish).[2] They also played St Andrew's Rovers that season. St Andrew's, who had lost the core of their best players lost twice to London Scottish and folded at the end of the season.[2] London Scottish had a very successful first season, and having played 15 matches they only lost four (against already well established sides, Flamingoes, Guy's Hospital, Queen's House and Wasps).[2]

Early history

London Scottish was the first of the "Exiles" rugby clubs to be founded, and the last of the main three - after London Irish and London Welsh - to go "open" in 1996.[3]

London Scottish made the John Player Cup Final in 1974, where they lost 26–6 against defending champions Coventry.

The club regularly featured at the Middlesex Sevens tournament, winning the trophy in 1937, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1991. They have won the Melrose Sevens three times, in 1962, 1965 and 2019.

Professional era (1996–2020)

Scottish turned professional in 1996. Tony Tiarks bought the club for £500,000 in 1996.

In the summer of 1998 Scottish, co-tenants of Richmond at the Athletic Ground, were promoted to the top division via a play-off, and Tiarks forced through an ill-fated groundshare with Harlequins and London Broncos at the Stoop Memorial Ground.

In the 1998–99 season, Scottish made their only appearance in the English Premiership. Under coach John Steele, and despite limited resources, the team finished 12th out of 14 teams, which would have saved them from relegation had they not fallen into administration at the season's end. Notable wins that season included: versus Bath (13–11), Saracens (24–7) and Newcastle Falcons (27–17). That season's squad included Scottish international stars Ronnie Eriksson, Simon Holmes and Derrick Lee, Australians Simon Fenn and Eddie Jones, and the South African Jannie de Beer.

Midway through the 1998–1999 season, Tiarks became disillusioned and discussed selling Scottish's place in the Premiership to second-division Bristol. He bailed out in the summer of 1999. The professional club London Scottish Rugby was placed into administration in 1999 and nominally merged into London Irish along with Richmond, who were also placed into administration.

The original amateur club rejoined the RFU leagues at the bottom of the pyramid after effectively having been relegated nine divisions by the RFU. The club progressed back up through seven divisions in 10 seasons to RFU Championship for the 2011–12 season.

The club was promoted to the English National leagues (National Division Three South) for the 2007–08 season after an eight-year absence. The club was unbeaten in the 2008–09 season, earning promotion to the revamped RFU National 1 Division for the 2009–10 season. In 2009–10, the club finished second in their first season in RFU National 1 Division.

The club secured promotion to the RFU Championship for the 2011–12 season. During the 2012–13 season, the club made the switch to a full-time professional set-up, with many of the club's part-time professional players leaving and new coaches brought on board, this included former Leicester Tigers hooker James Buckland and France and London Wasps legend Serge Betsen. The fully professional set-up was credited for an impressive performance away to Championship leaders Newcastle Falcons, where three penalties brought them to the brink of a shock win, but they lost 12–9. There followed significant wins in the second half of the season, including a 26–23 victory over Bedford Blues, a 25–13 win over Nottingham and a 17–20 win away at Cornish Pirates. Scottish were still challenging for a place in the top four of the Championship until as late as March, when they were beaten by Leeds Carnegie, and they ended the season in mid-table.

The Scottish again finished mid-table in the Championship in the 2013–14 season. The team had four players named in the Championship Best XV – American international Eric Fry, Tomas Francis, Mark Bright and Championship top try-scorer Miles Mantella.[5]

Following a mediocre 2016/2017 campaign, the club appointed Loughborough Students director of rugby Dave Morris as director of rugby and the club saw a change at the top, with Malcom Offord becoming chairman of the club and Carson Russell as CEO.

Semi-Professional Club (2020–)

Following a reduction in funding from the RFU. Scottish will drop to a semi-professional model for the 2020–21 season with players and coaches being employed part-time.[6]

Sevens

London Scottish have been great exponents of rugby sevens winning the Melrose Sevens (three times), Middlesex Sevens (seven times) and the Rosslyn Park London Floodlit Sevens (seven times).

Captains and league position (since 1999–2000)
SeasonDivisionCaptainPosition
1999–00Non League (London Senior Clubs)Ewan KearneyWinners of Merit table
2000–01Herts/Middlesex 1Damian LilleyRunners up
2001–02London 4 NWSteven WicharyChampions
2002–03London 3 NWMagnus MacdonaldChampions
2003–04London 2 NorthDavid WattChampions
2004–05London 1Karl Hensley4th
2005–06London 1Karl Hensley3rd
2006–07London 1Alex AlesbrookChampions
2007–08National Division Three SouthAlex Alesbrook4th National
2008–09National Division Three SouthGary TruemanChampions
2009–10National League OneGary Trueman2nd
2010–11National League OneIan McInroyChampions
2011–12The ChampionshipLewis Calder9th
2012–13The ChampionshipLewis Calder8th

Head coach and management (since 1999–2000)
SeasonDivisionHead CoachManager
1999–00Non LeagueIain MorrisonColin McIntyre
2000–01Herts/Middlesex 1Brett CooksonColin McIntyre
2001–02London 4 NWKevin PowderlyColin Mcintyre
2002–03London 3 NWKevin PowderlyColin McIntyre
2003–04London 2 NorthRick ScottColin McIntyre
2004–05London 1Rowly WilliamsColin McIntyre
2005–06London 1Rowly WilliamsColin McIntyre
2006–07London 1Terry O'ConnorColin McIntyre
2007–08National Division Three SouthTerry O'ConnorColin McIntyre
2008–09National Division Three SouthBrett TaylorColin McIntyre
2009–10National League OneBrett TaylorColin McIntyre
2010–11National League OneSimon AmorColin McIntyre
2011–12The ChampionshipSimon AmorRoss Macgregor
2012–13The ChampionshipSimon AmorRoss Macgregor
2013–14The ChampionshipSimon AmorLaurence Bruggemann

Overall league statistics
SeasonDivisionPlayedWonDrawLostPoints
For		Points
Against		Points
Diff		PointsPos
1987–88National League 211416141158–1797th
1988–89National League 211317146160–16711th
1989–90National League 311110025892166221st
1990–91National League 21270524017862145th
1991–92National League 2121101304130174221st
1992–93Premiership12318192248–56710th
1993–94National League 2186012232325–93128th
1999–00Non-league2619167753414341st
2000–01Herts/Middlesex 1181701554118436342nd
2001–02London 4 NW181404533214319281st
2002–03London 3 NW181602560199361321st
2003–04London 2 North222011752277475411st
2004–05London 1221507676343333304th
2005–06London 1221615840324516333rd
2006–07London 1222002997235762401st
2007–08National Division Three South261709633410223834th
2008–09National Division Three South26251010923287641201st
2009–10National League One3022179385693691082nd
2010–11National League One3027039585164421321st
2011–12The Championship226016422543−121349th
2012–13The Championship2210012456610−154458th

Club honours

London Scottish

London Scottish Lions (amateur side)

Current standings
2020–21 RFU Championship Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Tries for Tries against Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1Ampthill000000000000
2Bedford Blues000000000000
3Cornish Pirates000000000000
4Coventry000000000000
5Doncaster Knights000000000000
6Ealing Trailfinders000000000000
7Hartpury University000000000000
8Jersey Reds000000000000
9London Scottish000000000000
10Nottingham000000000000
11Richmond000000000000
12Saracens000000000000
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background is the relegation place.
Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". England Rugby.

Current squad
For player movements before or during the 2020–21 season, see List of 2020–21 RFU Championship transfers § London Scottish.

The London Scottish squad for the 2020–21 season is:[16]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Ollie Adams Hooker England
Billy Harding Hooker England
James Malcolm Hooker Scotland
Nick Selway Hooker England
Jordan Brodley Prop England
Phil Cringle Prop Scotland
Jake Ellwood Prop England
Ryan Eveleigh Prop England
Jonny Harris Prop England
Harry Morley Prop England
Joe Rees Prop Wales
Curtis Reynolds Prop England
Xavier Valentine Prop England
Kyle Whyte Prop South Africa
Matthew Davies Lock Wales
Luke Frost Lock England
Nodar Tcheishvili Lock Georgia
Alex Toolis Lock Australia
Mark Bright Back row England
Matt Eliet Back row England
Toby Freeman Back row England
Jack Ingall Back row England
Fred Tuilagi Back row England
Brian Tuilagi Back row England
James Tyas Back row Scotland
Miles Wakeling Back row England
Player Position Union
Josh Barton Scrum-half England
Luke Carter Scrum-half England
Charlie Gowling Scrum-half Scotland
Ed Hoadley Scrum-half England
Jacob Perry Fly-half England
Harry Sheppard Fly-half England
Ollie Allsopp Centre England
Dan Barnes Centre England
Craig Duncan Centre England
Robert Beattie Wing Scotland
Joe Luca-Smith Wing England
Rob Stevenson Wing Wales
David Halaifonua Fullback Tonga
Charlie Ingall Fullback England
Mike Te'o Fullback United States

Current staff

First team

  • Head Coach - Stevie Scott
  • Forwards Coach - TBC
  • Backs Coach & Team Manger - Ricky Khan

Commercial

  • Commercial Manager – Carson Russell

Scotland national team players

The following players have represented both London Scottish and the Scotland national team. London Scottish have produced more than 220 Scottish international players, more than any other club.[17]

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See also

References
  1. "General announcements of progress and fundraising during the Covid pandemic". Esher Rugby Club. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. Dick Tyson, London's Oldest Rugby Clubs, p96 (JJG Publishing), 2008
  3. Bath, 1997, pp86,87
  4. http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/StAnnsBlackfriars/QueensHead.shtm
  5. "Greene King IPA Championship Dream XV" Archived 31 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, RFU.com, 26 May 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  6. "RFU funding cut update". London Scottish Rugby. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  7. "Melrose Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  8. "Hawick Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  9. "Kelso Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  10. "Ross Sutherland Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  11. "Glasgow Academicals Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  12. "Edinburgh Wanderers / Haig Trophy Sevens". 10 June 2019.
  13. "Stirling Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  14. "How to find us". www.hampshirerugby.co.uk.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Squad". London Scottish. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  17. "A Brief History". London Scottish FC. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.

Bibliography
  • Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1)
  • Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1-905326-24-6)
  • Godwin, Terry Complete Who's Who of International Rugby (Cassell, 1987, ISBN 0-7137-1838-2)
  • Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; ISBN 0-904919-84-6)
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