London Scottish - the Origins: The original amateur club rejoined the leagues at the bottom of the pyramid in 2000. We have progressed from Herts/Middlesex 1 through London 4NW, London 3NW, London 2N and into National League 3.

The club styled itself FC, though strictly all purely rugby clubs formed after 1864 should be RFCs.

The club played its first matches in the 1878-79 season - 15 in all against mainly local sides of whom only Wasps still exists.

From this beginning the club has gone on to great things; it has produced more international players for Scotland and more Scotland and Lions captains than any other club.

London Scottish won the Middlesex 7s several times in the 1960s, and was high in the old Merit Tables before leagues were introduced.

The club formed a professional side in 1995, won promotion and for a brief season enjoyed premiership rugby before the professional club was disbanded in 1999 for financial reasons when the Premiership was reduced from 14 to 12 teams

Nominally the club merged with Richmond and London Irish, but in practice the old "amateur" club had never died and it is this club which is striving to regain its status in the national leagues.

London Scottish Rugby Club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union.

The club shares the ground in Richmond with Richmond FC - having done so since 1894.

The London Scottish teams play in a blue jersey with a red lion badge, white shorts and red socks. (As a concession to the parents who have to wash them, our minis have navy shorts, not white!).

The club runs six senior amateur teams:

> 1st XV, who play in the London Division 1 (following promotion four years running)
> 2nd XV who play in the Canterbury Merit Table Division 1
> 3rd XV who play in the Canterbury Merit Table Division 4
> 4th XV who play in the Middlesex Merit Table Division 1
> 5th XV who play in the Middlesex Merit Table Division 2
> 6th XV who play in the Middlesex Merit Table Division 4
> Picts - our occasional Veterans side
> Under 21s - our occasional development side.

Head coach: Terry O'Connor
Assistant coaches:  Jim Kelly (forwards), Rory Greenslade-Jones (backs) Nigel Rosser (2nd XV), Adrian Johnson (3rd XV)
Fitness coach: Dean Sutton
Head Physio: Niamh Miles
Academy Director: Rowly Williams
Community Sports coaches: Alex Alesbrook, and one TBA
Youth coaches: David Box, Darren Bruce, Jerry Goldie, Adam Friel, Tom Williams.

We also run minis, youth and colts at every age group. Various sides have won Middlesex or Surrey Leagues or both is recent years. Our minis start art age 5 or so. In addition we have a new development academy featuring Under 21 and Under 19 sides. In the past three years the Under 19 Colts were plate finalists in the National Colts Cup, Quarter Finalists in the main Cup and twice Middlesex Cup winners.

In 2005 we launched a community sports programme and wit the help of London Active Partnership we have funded coaches to go into schools on a regular schedule. In addition to this work which we hope will enable us to unearth local talent, we launched a club academy in the autumn of 2006. With funding from the Scottish Rugby Union and the Friends of Scottish Rugby, a key task will be to identify players aged 14 up who have the potential to play professional and international rugby, and placing them on a tailored development pathway. We will work closely with the SRU and the national age group selectors and the pathway coaches as well using guest coaches to deliver specific training and development.

The club is open to players of Scottish descent although in reality we will welcome anyone with an interest in Rugby Union, and all our sides are mix of Scots, people with southern hemisphere accents and Scottish grannies, people who love Scotland, not a few Englishmen and the odd Irishman ... and people who just want to play good rugby and have fun!

Training for senior sides takes place at Richmond Athletic Ground on Monday and Wednesday nights from 7 30pm. Development, Colts and Youth sides on Wednesdays at 7pm.

Contact us

> Nick Evans , General Manager on 0208 940 8289. 

> London Scottish  

---