Edinburgh

Full name	Edinburgh Rugby
Founded	1872; 153 years ago (1872)
Location	Edinburgh, Scotland
Ground(s)	Hive Stadium (Capacity 7,800)
CEO	Douglas Struth[1]
Coach(es)	Sean Everitt
Captain(s)	Grant Gilchrist Ben Vellacott
Most appearances	Allan Jacobsen (286)
Top scorer	Chris Paterson (783)
Most tries	Tim Visser (69)
League(s)	United Rugby Championship
2023–24	League:10th Playoffs:DNQ
1stkit 2ndkit
Official website
edinburghrugby.org
Current season

Edinburgh Rugby (formerlyEdinburgh Reivers,Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professionalrugby union teams fromScotland. The club competes in theUnited Rugby Championship, along with theGlasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh plays the majority of its home games atEdinburgh Rugby Stadium.

The originalEdinburgh District team played the first ever inter-district match againstGlasgow District in 1872, winning the match 3–0.

The amateur district team was reformed with professionalism, as Edinburgh Rugby, in 1996 to compete in theHeineken Cup, its best performance coming in the 2011–12 season, when the club reached the semi-final but lost out narrowly toUlster, 22–19. The quarter-final tie against Toulouse attracted a former club record crowd of 37,881 spectators to Murrayfield. As of 2025, the attendance record stands at 40,063, achieved againstGlasgow Warriors in 2024. In 2003–04 Edinburgh became the first Scottish team to reach the quarter-finals.^[2][3][4]

In the 2014–15 season, Edinburgh became the first Scottish club to reach a major European final, when they metGloucester Rugby in theEuropean Rugby Challenge Cup showpiece atTwickenham Stoop in London.

Edinburgh District played in the world's first ever inter-district match, againstGlasgow District, in 1872.^[5]

For the history of the District prior to professionalism, see:

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Following the introduction of professional rugby in 1995, theScottish Rugby Union (SRU) considered that Scottish club sides would not be able to compete against the best teams from France and England. The SRU therefore decided that the four district teams were to be Scotland's vehicle for professional rugby and in 1996 theEdinburgh District team was reformed asEdinburgh Rugby to compete in the Heineken Cup. Because of the SRU's significant debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment ofMurrayfield Stadium, further reorganisation soon became necessary and the four professional sides were reduced to two. After two seasons as Edinburgh Rugby, the club was subsequently merged withBorder Reivers to form a new team known asEdinburgh Reivers.

For the 1999 and 2000 seasons the Scottish Rugby Union andWelsh Rugby Union joined forces, with the expansion of theWelsh Premier Division to include Edinburgh Reivers andGlasgow Caledonians, under the nameWelsh-Scottish League. However, further change was imminent and in 2001 an agreement was made between theIrish Rugby Football Union, Scottish Rugby Union andWelsh Rugby Union to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 saw the first incarnation of theCeltic League. In that inaugural season Edinburgh finished in sixth place.

The following season, to coincide with the re-establishment of theBorder Reivers, a Scottish League competition modelled on theTri-Nations was introduced alongside the Celtic League, however this survived for only a single season, Edinburgh becoming the only champions.

Following the reduction of Scotland's professional structure from four to two sides, a further rebranding took place. The Edinburgh Reivers name was replaced byEdinburgh Rugby, with the Glasgow Caledonians undergoing a similar renaming process, as part of a "major revamp"^[6] of the professional structure in Scotland.

In the 2003–04 season the team found some success, when it reached the Final of the inaugural Celtic Cup, beatingCardiff Blues andConnacht en route in the quarter-finals^[7] and semi-finals^[8] respectively. The team's good run came to an end in the Final, however, with a 21–27 loss toUlster, at Murrayfield. David Humphreys kicked 17 points in the match to earn the Irish province the trophy^[9]

For the 2005–06 season, the Edinburgh team found itself looking for a new coach after the departure ofFrank Hadden to coachScotland.^[10]Sean Lineen, then Glasgow Warriors assistant coach, was linked with the post^[11] beforeTodd Blackadder acquired the position for the season^[12] after a spell as interim coach.^[13] During the same season the team nickname was incorporated into the official name, which became theEdinburgh Gunners. The "Gunners" moniker was dropped on 29 September 2006, after the club had become Scottish rugby's first private franchise during the summer. The team name reverted toEdinburgh Rugby. One reason for the change was that the nameThe Gunners was already a registered Trademark ofArsenal Football Club.^[5] Another reason was the wish of the new owners for a re-branding, including a different name and the introduction of a new logo. Despite this, the name "The Gunners" is still used informally by some long-standing fans.

In 2006, it was announced that from the end of the 2005–06 season, Edinburgh would become a franchise. Finance would come from a private company headed by businessmen Alex and Bob Carruthers.^[14] This was thought to be a saving grace forBorder Reivers. The team was thought to be the favourite to be folded, after the Scottish Rugby Union warned that funding problems could force it to scrap one of its Celtic League sides.^[15] The SRU was to retain a seat on the new company board and continue to provide development funding and support to the new owners.^[14] Following the departure of Todd Blackadder to join theCrusaders coaching setup inSuper Rugby,Lynn Howells was appointed as head coach by Edinburgh's new executive chairman, Alex Carruthers.^[16]

In July 2007, a dispute arose between the Scottish Rugby Union and the owners of the newly franchised Edinburgh team. According to owner Bob Carruthers the SRU owed Edinburgh a six-figure sum which, he said, had not been paid. Carruthers also claimed that SRU had threatened to withdraw funding should Edinburgh continue with legal action relating to the sum.^[17] During the dispute, Alex Carruthers resigned along with then managing director Graeme Stirling.^[18] The dispute caused much disruption in Scottish rugby at the time, leading to the temporary withdrawal of 12 players from the Scotland squad training for the2007 Rugby World Cup. This included leading players such asChris Paterson andMike Blair^[18]

The dispute escalated when, on 9 July 2007, Edinburgh revoked its associate membership of the SRU.^[19] This led to doubts about Edinburgh Rugby's ability to fulfil fixtures in the Celtic League and Heineken Cup and, whether or not Edinburgh players were insured for playing at club level. The resignation was withdrawn on 12 July, with Bob Carruthers being quoted as asking to "talk directly to someone" and insisting that the proposed signing ofAustralia stand-offStephen Larkham would go ahead.^[20]Despite this, the dispute continued, with each party initiating legal action against the other.^[21][22] The situation was resolved in August 2007, with the termination of the franchise agreement and the return of Edinburgh to the direct control of the SRU.^[23]

Following the return to SRU control, the club coach Lynn Howells was dismissed. The SRU's Head of Player Development was appointed interim coach and Nic Cartwright was appointed as chief executive.^[23] FormerBritish & Irish Lions captainGavin Hastings was subsequently appointed as chairman,^[24] stating his "desire and passion to see this game and this club grow". The proposed signing of Stephen Larkham fell through after the SRU was unable to honour the terms of the agreement.^[25] This was seen as a disappointment, because the signing had been considered a coup for the beleaguered SRU when it was initially announced.^[26]

Following an application process,^[27] it was announced on 1 October 2007 thatAndy Robinson, the formerEngland head coach, would become the club's new head coach.^[28] Edinburgh showed progress under Robinson and performed well at home in the Heineken Cup, posting wins againstLeinster^[29] andLeicester Tigers^[30] and a narrow loss toToulouse, earning a bonus point.^[31] Following disappointing performances by Scotland in the 6 Nations, and Robinson co-coaching Scotland A,^[32] there were rumours of Robinson taking a post within the Scotland set-up after helping Edinburgh to climb to 3rd in the Celtic League.^[33][34]This progress, however, was counter-pointed by some disappointing results including beingshut out byCardiff Blues at Murrayfield^[35] and losing the1872 Challenge Cup on aggregate to rivals Glasgow Warriors.^[36]

On 26 December 2008, a new home record attendance of 12,534 saw the game against Glasgow Warriors.^[37] In the 2008–09 season Edinburgh reached their highest position finishing in second place behindMunster.

Andy Robinson left in 2009 to take up the position of head coach of the Scottish national side. Rob Moffat took over at Edinburgh. Michael Bradley was the new manager from 2011 to 2012.

Michael Bradley took over in May 2011 on a two-year contract.^[38]

The 2011–12 season saw the introduction of several young players into the squad including début seasons for 21-year-oldsMatt Scott andGrant Gilchrist, 19-year-oldHarry Leonard and first full seasons for back three players Tom Brown and Lee Jones plus the back row pairStuart McInally andDavid Denton. Most of these players would become regular starters for the club and Jones, Brown, Scott, Gilchrist, McInally and Denton were destined for international honours. Domestically the season was not a success, with only 6 league wins out of 22 games, but the2011–12 Heineken Cup campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history when it topped Pool 2, including a remarkable home victory againstRacing Métro by 48–47^[39] - the largest Heineken Cup comeback in the league's history, having been losing 27–47 with just over ten minutes remaining - and setting up a quarter final against French rugby giantsToulouse by scoring four tries, and therefore a bonus point, againstLondon Irish. The game against Toulouse in April 2012, was played before a new club record crowd of 37,881 and was closely contested, with Edinburgh holding out for a 19–14 win thanks to an early try fromMike Blair and penalties from captainGreig Laidlaw, setting up a semi-final in Dublin againstUlster. The semi-final was a close match but Ulster triumphed 22–19.

The 2012–13 season started with much expectation after the strengthening of the squad through the additions ofW. P. Nel,John Yapp,Richie Rees,Dimitri Basilaia,Ben Atiga,Greig Tonks,Izak van der Westhuizen, andAndy Titterrell. These arrivals were however tempered by the loss of several experienced internationals,Mike Blair,Chris Paterson,Jim Thompson,Alan MacDonald,Esteban Lozada andPhil Godman among them. However, after another poor start to thePro12 League, Edinburgh were then beaten 0–45 bySaracens at Murrayfield in the first round ofHeineken Cup matches. This was followed by another high-scoring defeat when the team lost 33–0 toMunster Rugby atThomond Park.

Following increasingly disappointing results and performances in the Pro12 league it was announced in February 2013 that Edinburgh would not be renewing Bradley's contract at the end of the season along with defence coach Billy McGinty. McGinty chose to leave his position with immediate effect with Bradley overseeing the defence until the end of the season. However, in a surprise move just a month later on 6 March 2013 Edinburgh announced that both Bradley and forwards coachNeil Back were being removed with immediate effect and coaches Stevie Scott andDuncan Hodge would take over until the end of the season.

In his final year to early March 2013 the Club lost all six matches in the Heineken Cup and recorded four league victories all season in the Pro12 against Cardiff, Zebre, Connacht and Ospreys. Edinburgh Rugby accumulated seven losing bonus points in this period highlighting the need for minor adjustments to change the sides fortunes on the pitch.

In the remaining five matches on the season Edinburgh won three, recording victories against Ulster, Zebre and Gwent Dragons to finish the season in 10th place in the Pro12 one place higher than the 2011–12 season.

Alan Solomons, formerly the coach ofWestern Province,Stormers,Ulster and more recentlySuper Rugby team theKings, was appointed as head coach at the end of July 2013.^[40]Stevie Scott andOmar Mouneimne were appointed as assistant coaches.

Solomons' first season at the club was treated largely as a rebuilding period, with several players departing and replacements coming in. The league campaign culminated in an eighth-place finish.^[41]

2014–15 saw Edinburgh again finishing eighth, albeit with ten points and three victories more than the previous season. While the pre-season target of a top six finish wasn't achieved, there were other reasons to consider the campaign a success. The first came over the festive period when the team beatGlasgow Warriors over two legs to win the inter-city 1872 Cup for the first time in six seasons. After going down 16–6 in the first encounter atScotstoun Stadium, the Murrayfield men turned the tables with a 20–8 victory in the return leg, withTim Visser notching two first-half tries, to bring the trophy back to the capital for the first time since 2009. As the season reached its final stages, Edinburgh's excellent European form took them to within touching distance of more silverware.

Solomons left the club in September 2016 following a poor start to the season. Assistant coachDuncan Hodge was placed in temporary charge, and ultimately held the reins for the remainder of the campaign.^[42]

By finishing top of theirEuropean Rugby Challenge Cup group (containing the FrenchTop 14 pairLyon andBordeaux as well asEnglish Premiership teamLondon Welsh) they progressed to the knockout stage, where they were seeded fifth. They went on to beat fourth seedLondon Irish 18–23 in the quarter finals at theMadejski Stadium. In the semi-finals they thrashed theNewport Gwent Dragons an impressive 45–16 in front of a home crowd of over 8,000 at Murrayfield, making them the first Scottish team to ever reach a European final. They facedGloucester in the final at theTwickenham Stoop on 2 May, losing 19–13.^[43]

In February 2017, the club announced the appointment of formerLeicester Tigers andToulon Head CoachRichard Cockerill for the following season.^[44] Cockerill led the team to the play-offs of the2017–18 Pro14 season, the first time the club have qualified for the end-of-season series since its introduction. Their season ended following a tight away defeat toMunster.^[45]

During his tenure, several Edinburgh players have made their international debuts for Scotland, including propsSimon Berghan,Darryl Marfo andMurray McCallum, lockLewis Carmichael, wingDarcy Graham, full-backBlair Kinghorn, hookerDave Cherry, flankersLuke Hamilton andJamie Ritchie, and former Edinburgh playersPhil Burleigh,Cornell du Preez andGeorge Turner, flankerLuke Crosbie, centresChris Dean andJames Johnstone, and scrum-halvesNathan Fowles,Sean Kennedy andCharlie Shiel were named in Scotland squads.

In addition, wingDuhan van der Merwe, propRory Sutherland, and flankerHamish Watson have all toured with theBritish & Irish Lions inSouth Africa, with each one becoming a Test Lion in the first test match of the series, a 17–22 win for the Lions against theSpringboks. However, in July 2021, Cockerill left Edinburgh by mutual consent. Former Scotland captain and Lions scrum-halfMike Blair has been appointed as the head coach for the 2021–22 season, Edinburgh's first in the newUnited Rugby Championship.

Following a frustrating season, Edinburgh announced the immediate departure of head coach Richard Cockerill by "mutual consent" in July 2021 with Mike Blair (who was at the time part of the Scotland International set up) announced as the new head coach later that month. Blair's appointment coincided with new signings including Scotland internationalJames Lang, South AfricanHenry Immelman and Argentine utility backEmiliano Boffelli. Blair's appointment also saw the departure of longtime attack coach Duncan Hodge.

Blair's first game in charge was a 10-26 pre-season friendly loss to Newcastle Falcons; their first game in the new Edinburgh Rugby Stadium (since renamed the DAM Health Stadium, and then the Hive, for sponsorship reasons). Edinburgh made a good start to their first United Rugby Championship campaign and also the European Challenge Cup, where they beat Saracens 18–21 away in the first round.

In February 2023, Blair announced he would step down as head coach at the conclusion of the 2022/23 season^[46]

Sean Everitt was recruited in July 2023 as a 'Senior Coach' to replace Blair for the 2023/24 season.^[47] This season saw modest results for the club, taking 11 wins, notably being the only team to emerge from Ulster's home stadium victorius. However, the team were crucially let down by only collecting five bonus points throughout the season, ultimately leading to them finishing tenth in the league, below Lions and Ospreys, despite having more wins than them.

Everitt signed a 2-year extension at the beginning of 2024 to remain at the club until June 2026 becoming Head Coach in the process.^[48]

As of the half-way point in the 2024–25 season, Edinburgh sit eighth in the URC table, with four wins from eight, all at home - but having already surpassed their bonus point total from the 2023–24 season. They sit top of Pool 3 in the Challenge Cup on points difference, with a loss away to Gloucester, and a win at home to Bayonne.

Edinburgh Rugby have played at a number of grounds over the years includingMeadowbank Stadium,Meggetland Sports Complex and most recentlyMyreside. It was recognised over the years by fans and players alike that Edinburgh have lacked a true Home Ground withBT Murrayfield often criticised for providing a poor atmosphere due to being largely empty for most games.

On 31 May 2018, Edinburgh Rugby announced a new proposed 7,800-seaterEdinburgh Rugby Stadium to be built on the training pitches at Murrayfield. The stadium cost Scottish Rugby an estimated £5 million.^[49] The stadium was completed on 16 February 2021.^[50]

In December 2023, Edinburgh launched a women's team to compete in theCeltic Challenge, a cross-border competition that is designed to develop players for the Celtic nations, starting in the2023–24 season.^[51][52][53]

2024–25 United Rugby Championship as of 1 March 2025 : last match added Ulster vs Scarlets watch ·edit ·discuss
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1	Leinster	12	12	0	0	360	166	+194	52	24	9	0	57
2	Glasgow Warriors	12	8	0	4	354	225	+125	53	29	8	4	44
3	Bulls	12	8	0	4	316	249	+67	41	29	6	3	41
4	Sharks	11	7	0	4	288	283	+5	36	42	4	2	34
5	Munster	12	6	0	6	287	294	–7	46	41	8	1	33
6	Cardiff	12	5	1	6	263	321	–58	41	44	6	3	31
7	Edinburgh	12	5	0	7	295	300	-5	41	41	5	5	30
8	Connacht	12	5	0	7	277	296	-19	42	38	6	3	29
9	Scarlets	12	5	1	6	271	255	+16	29	36	2	4	28
10	Lions	11	6	0	5	258	243	+15	33	34	3	1	28
11	Ospreys	12	5	1	6	258	258	–	34	33	3	3	28
12	Stormers	12	5	0	7	272	293	–21	34	37	5	3	28
13	Benetton	12	5	1	6	251	317	–66	31	44	5	1	28
14	Ulster	12	5	0	7	269	294	–25	39	42	3	4	27
15	Zebre Parma	12	5	0	7	196	268	–72	25	38	2	3	25
16	Dragons	12	1	0	11	226	374	–149	28	53	1	3	8
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[54] number of matches won; the difference between points for and points against; the number of tries scored; the most points scored; the difference between tries for and tries against; the fewest red cards received; the fewest yellow cards received.
Green background indicates teams that are in play-off places and earn a place in the2025–26 European Champions Cup Pink background indicates teams that are in play-off places and earn a place in the2025–26 European Challenge Cup Yellow background indicates the team that won the2024–25 European Challenge Cup and thus qualify for the 2025–26 European Champions Cup, but are not in a play-off place Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2025–26 European Challenge Cup. Q: qualified for play-offs.H: home field advantage secured for quarter-and semi-final.h; home field advantage secured for quarter-finalX: cannot reach play-offs.E: qualified for Champions Cup.

• European Rugby Challenge Cup^[a]
  • Runners-up:1 (2015)
• United Rugby Championship^[b]
  • Runners-up:1 (2009)
  • Scottish-Italian Shield:1 (2022)
• Scottish Inter-District Championship / Scottish League
  • Winners:3 (1997–98), (1998–99), (2002–03)
• 1872 Cup
  • Winners:7 (2008–09), (2014–15), (2015–16), (2017–18), (2018–19), (2019–20), (2021–22)
• Celtic Cup
  • Runners Up:1 (2003–04)
• Melrose Sevens
  • Winners:1 (2016)^[55]
• Glasgow City Sevens
  • Winners:2 (2005, 2006)^[56]
• Capital Sevens
  • Winners: (2007, 2014, 2015)^[57]

• Head coach:Sean Everitt
• Assistant skills coach: Robert Chrystie
• Forwards coach:Stevie Lawrie
• Defence coach: Michael Todd
• Attack and backs coach:Scott Mathie

While still an amateur side,Edinburgh District capped theRoyal HSFP forwardJames Robertson in the 1870s. Robertson was the first black person to playrugby union.^[61]

Former players who have played for Edinburgh and have more than 20 caps for their respective country.

TheTennents Premiership is the premier club competition over the Edinburgh region. The district includes clubs from the council areas:City of Edinburgh,West Lothian,Midlothian andEast Lothian.

Currently four district clubs compete at the top level of amateur rugby in Scotland.

BT National League is an amateur league competition forrugby union clubs inScotland. It forms the second tier of theScottish League Championship.

TheEast leagues cover the Edinburgh & District and the Scottish Borders area. They play at a level below that of theNational Leagues structure. Winners of the league may progress to the National League.

Edinburgh and District consists of 32 clubs.

There are 20 clubs in theCity of Edinburgh council area.

There are 6 clubs inEast Lothian.

There are 2 clubs inWest Lothian.

There are 3 clubs inMidlothian.

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• Sports clubs and teams in Edinburgh
• United Rugby Championship teams
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