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Club rugby

Heineken Cup final day at Murrayfield

Rugby is a very popular sport in Edinburgh and the Lothians, played by amateurs and at professional level by the local team, Edinburgh Rugby.

The Scottish capital is home to Edinburgh Rugby, one of Scotland's two professional rugby union teams (the other being arch-rivals Glasgow Warriors). Formerly known as Edinburgh Gunners, Edinburgh Rugby battle it out in the RaboDirect PRO12 league each season along with Italian, Irish and Welsh teams. The team plays their matches at Murrayfield Stadium, usually on a Friday evening.

Along with Glasgow, Edinburgh also play in the Heineken Cup, an annual rugby union competition involving leading club, regional, and provincial teams from Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, France and Italy. The 2011-12 season sees Edinburgh play their Pool matches against Cardiff Blues, London Irish and Racing Métro 92.

The final of the Heineken Cup has also been played at Murrayfield on two occasions. In 2005 it was contested between two French teams, Stade Francais and Toulouse, the latter winning 18-12, and again in 2009, when Leinster beat Leicester 19-16.

In the Lothians, amateur club rugby is also a popular sport. There are many clubs located in the region, some, like Boroughmuir and Watsonians, affiliated with schools in the region, featuring their former pupils. On Saturdays, in the league season from autumn to spring, you can catch a local rugby match, while the popularity of rugby at all levels ensures that you are sure to stumble across a muddy playing field scattered with players indulging in one of the region’s primary passions.