The Scottish Varsity


The Scottish Varsity is an annual rugby union fixture between the University of [St Andrews RFC|University of St Andrews] and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. In the Men's match, as of 2025, both St Andrews and Edinburgh are tied at seven victories each since the revival of the match in 2011. First played in the 1860s, it is the oldest varsity match in the world in a code of football.

History

was founded in 1857 and the University of St Andrews [Rugby Football Club] the following year. Fixtures began in the 1860s, making this the oldest varsity match in the world in a code of football.
In 1873, the University of St Andrews RFC and the Edinburgh University RFC, along with six other clubs, were foundering members of the Scottish Football Union. Edinburgh University had joined the Rugby Football Union in 1871 and renounced their membership to join the SFU.
The Scottish Varsity was resurrected in 2011 after a hiatus of over 50 years and was staged in London at the home of London Scottish RFC in order to build alumni relations. In 2015, the match returned to Scotland in Murrayfield Stadium and drew a crowd of over 10,000 spectators. In 2021, the match was played at University Park, the home of University of St Andrews RFC, due to Covid-19 pandemic crowd restrictions. The match is normally held in late September and has received coverage from Sky Sports, the BBC and IRB’s Total Rugby.
The match has been named after its sponsor, The Royal Bank of Scotland, since 2015, and has enjoyed popular support since the rivalry was renewed in 2011.

Men's Results

Varsity matches were initially held on St. Andrew's Day but have been moved earlier to late September, they have attracted notable attendees including her Royal Highness Princess Anne in 2012.
No.DateVenueScoreWinner
130 November 2011Richmond Athletic Ground, London32 - 0Edinburgh
230 November 2012Richmond Athletic Ground, London28 - 8Edinburgh
328 September 2013Richmond Athletic Ground, London24 - 15St Andrews
427 September 2014Richmond Athletic Ground, London17 - 12St Andrews
526 September 2015Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh27 - 26St Andrews
624 September 2016Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh24 - 12St Andrews
723 September 2017Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh31 - 7Edinburgh
822 September 2018Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh26 - 15Edinburgh
921 September 2019Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh62 - 0Edinburgh
1025 September 2021University Park, St Andrews18 - 5St Andrews
1124 September 2022Peffermill, Edinburgh24 - 14St Andrews
1223 September 2023University Park, St Andrews32 - 29Edinburgh
1321 September 2024Edinburgh Rugby Stadium, Edinburgh24 - 13St Andrews
1420 September 2025Edinburgh Rugby Stadium, Edinburgh26 – 23Edinburgh

Women's Results

In 2014, the inaugural Women's Varsity Match took place in the form of a 7-a-side match; it continued to take place as a 15-a-side match until 2019. Edinburgh won all six matches played between 2014 and 2019.
No.DateVenueScoreWinner
127 September 2014Richmond Athletic Ground, London24 - 0Edinburgh
226 September 2015Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh36 - 7Edinburgh
324 September 2016Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh97 - 0Edinburgh
423 September 2017Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh53 - 5Edinburgh
522 September 2018Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh49 - 0Edinburgh
621 September 2019Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh52 - 0Edinburgh

By total wins (Women's)

Total matchesSt Andrews victoriesEdinburgh victoriesDraws
6060