London Scottish F.C.

London Scottish
Full name London Scottish Football Club
Union Middlesex RFU, Scotland RU
Nickname(s) The Exiles, Scottish
Founded 1878 (1878)
Location Richmond, Richmond upon Thames, London, England
Ground(s) Athletic Ground (Capacity: 4,500 (1,000 seated))
President Paul Burnell
Coach(es) Dave Morris
League(s) RFU Championship
2017–18 11th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
londonscottish.com

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.

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.[1] 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[2] 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),[3] initially played on Blackheath Common,[1] and later at Richmond Athletic Ground in Surrey.[2]

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).[1] 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.[1] 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).[1]

Early history

London Scottish was the first of the "Exiles" rugby clubs to be founded, and also the last of the main three to go "open" in 1996.[2]

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 also won the Melrose Sevens twice, in 1962 and 1965.

Professional era (1996–present)

The club 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 one and only appearance in the English Premiership. Under coach John Steele, and despite their limited resource, the team finished in 12th place out of 14 teams, which would have saved them from relegation, had they not fallen into administration at the season's end. Notable games that season included victories over: Bath (13–11), Saracens (24–7), and Newcastle Falcons (27–17). That season 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 1999 season, Tiarks was 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 the club was 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 being 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 mathematically challenging for a place in the top four of the Championship until as late as March, until they were beaten by Leeds Carnegie, and they ended the season with a mid-table finish and safe from relegation.

The Scottish again finished mid-table in the Championship for the 2013–14 season. The team had four players named to the Championship Best XV — American international Eric Fry, Tomas Francis, Mark Bright, and Championship top try-scorer Miles Mantella.[4]

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

Sevens

London Scottish have been great exponents of rugby sevens winning the Melrose Sevens (twice), 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

Current standings

2017–18 RFU Championship Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Loss bonus Points
1Bristol (C)222101949417532181103
2Ealing Trailfinders22161576652224415283
3Bedford Blues2211296545767814668
4Cornish Pirates221201068157710410967
5Jersey Reds221318542480628365
6Yorkshire Carnegie221228518547-299263
7Doncaster Knights229112582615-3313657
8Nottingham2210111547619−727352
9Richmond229013444597-1536446
10Hartpury College226115480623-1439742
11London Scottish226115521707-1868640
12Rotherham Titans (R)222020376780−4042414
  • 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.
Updated: 28 April 2018
Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". NCA Rugby.

Current squad

The London Scottish squad for the 2018–19 season is:[7][lower-alpha 1]

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 England
Peter Austin Hooker England England
Brad Clements Hooker England England
Craig Duncan Hooker England England
Billy Harding Hooker England England
Jared Saunders Hooker South Africa South Africa
Jordan Brodley Prop England England
Phil Cringle Prop Scotland Scotland
Jonny Harris Prop England England
Jimmy Litchfield Prop England England
Richard Palframan Prop South Africa South Africa
Tom Smallbone Prop England England
Dino Waldren Prop United States United States
Byron Hodge Lock Australia Australia
Tjiuee Uanivi Lock Namibia Namibia
Theo Vukasinovic Lock England England
Mark Bright Back row England England
Matt Eliet Back row England England
Luke Frost Back row England England
Jack Ingall Back row England England
Matt Marley Back row Wales Wales
James Tyas Back row England England
Mike Wakeling Back row England England
Lewis Wynne [lower-alpha 2] Back row Scotland Scotland
Player Position Union
Jeoy Barton Scrum-half England England
Grayson Hart Scrum-half Scotland Scotland
Ed Hoadley Scrum-half England England
Rory Jennings Fly-half England England
Jacob Perry Fly-half England England
Ben Mosses Centre England England
Henari Veratau Centre Australia Australia
Richie Vernon Centre Scotland Scotland
Matt Davidson Wing England England
Charlie Ingall Wing England England
Miles Mantella Wing England England
Rob Stevenson Wing England England
Joe Luca-Smith Fullback England England
  • Notes:
  1. ↑ Lewis Wynne joins London Scottish on a season-long loan from Glasgow Warriors[8]
  2. ↑ name"Wynne"

Current Staff

First team

  • Director of Rugby – Dave Morris
  • Head Coach - Nic Rouse
  • Backs Coach - Gareth Steadman
  • Team Manager – Doug Cowie

Commercial

  • Chief Executive Officer – Carson Russell
  • Chief Financial Officer – Nick Igoe

Scotland national team players

The following list of players have represented both London Scottish and the Scotland international team. London Scottish have produced more than 220 Scottish international players, which is more than any other club.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dick Tyson, London's Oldest Rugby Clubs, p96 (JJG Publishing), 2008
  2. 1 2 3 Bath, 1997, pp86,87
  3. ↑ http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/StAnnsBlackfriars/QueensHead.shtm
  4. ↑ "Greene King IPA Championship Dream XV" Archived 31 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine., RFU.com, 26 May 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  5. ↑ http://www.hampshirerugby.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=393&Itemid=199
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Squad". London Scottish. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Glasgow Warrior Wynne heads to London Scottish on season long loan" (Press release). London Scottish. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "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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