Our journey around the villages, towns and cities that have rugby league running through their veins heads north of the border to Scotland.

Border Break: A Quick Escape

Despite having a World Cup-winning captain and two Challenge Cup finals hosted, is there a possibility for rugby league to establish itself in Scotland?

Efforts to introduce the game of (insert game name here) in North America have been ongoing for over a century.

Although many people have tried, the number of people interested in playing the 13-a-side code remains small.

After the men's national team reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup, where Tonga was defeated by New Zealand, and won the European Cup the following year, things have been challenging for them. However, they managed to secure significant draws against New Zealand in the 2016 Four Nations tournament and Samoa in the 2017 World Cup.

In the meantime, there has been a recent unfortunate event where Keith Hogg has passed away at the age of 66. Keith was a previous chairman for Scotland Rugby League and had been recognized for his dedication to his country. Sadly, he had to leave his position two years earlier due to his illness. This incident has caused additional disappointment.

Even though the thistle may have some difficulty thriving, it is a resilient flower. Despite the enduring popularity of soccer and rugby union, there is hope that rugby league, in all its various shapes and sizes, will flourish in time.

Barry McGuffog, who has recently been appointed as the clubs' liaison officer for Scotland RL, has come up with an idea to reintroduce the Scotland men's 'A' team, which has been on a break for a long time. He plans to have a Club XIII team consisting of domestic players and an Exiles team to compete against each other in a trial match.

He stated that his goal is to establish real opportunities for players and coaching staff to advance in their careers.

I believe that Scotland's 'A' team could serve as a means for local players to progress towards the national team. Additionally, offering players the opportunity to earn international recognition may entice more individuals to take up rugby league.

For a long time, the Borders area of the country has been known for producing skilled individuals.

Travel back in time to April 1904 when the initial international rugby league match was held. The nationalities team other than England played against them at Central Park in Wigan. The team was led by George Frater, who played for Oldham, and had Jim Moffatt as a fellow forward player from Leeds. Together, they helped the team secure a 9-3 victory.

In 1908-09, the fresh Australian national team went on a tour to Great Britain. Their massive 45-game schedule, which stretched over five months, included a stop in Glasgow. Game number 35 was held at Celtic Football Club's Parkhead against a Northern Union XIII.

The match happened on a Wednesday afternoon in February, which meant lots of people were at work and couldn't watch it. To make things worse, it was raining heavily and this didn't encourage people to come out to the game. As a result, only 3,000 people showed up to the huge stadium, which was actually one of the largest football grounds in the world with a capacity of 60,000.

There were many witnesses present during the event, including the renowned Celtic coach Willie Maley. As the tale goes, Maley was greatly impressed by the extraordinary skills of Dally Messenger, the centre of the Kangaroos. In fact, Maley was said to have made an astonishing offer of £1,000 (which would roughly translate to £125,000 in today's currency) to lure Messenger into joining the soccer community.

The Messenger remained loyal to rugby league, but the second Kangaroos tour in 1911-12 decided to focus on Scotland. They arranged a total of 36 matches and chose the Heart of Midlothian’s Tynecastle stadium in Edinburgh as the venue for the second Ashes Test against Great Britain in December. This stadium could accommodate 60,000 spectators.

On Saturday evening, more than 8,000 people watched the rugby match draw, which took place on the 11th of November. This attendance was greater than the number of people who attended the first Test in St James' Park, Newcastle or the third Test in Villa Park, Birmingham. In the first Test, Australia won 19-10 and only 5,317 people watched. In the third Test, the tourists won 33-8, but only 4,000 people attended the match.

However, competitions held within a country were mostly limited to established club venues in Northern England. Some people feel this approach is too narrow and insular. In 1953, this was highlighted when a proposal to create a Glasgow Eagles club was declined due to worries about the expenses of traveling.

If the Eagles had launched, they might have attempted to recruit Dave Valentine, the exceptional Huddersfield back row player who initially played rugby union for Hawick in Scotland. He led a Great Britain team, which included Leeds winger Davie Rose from Jedburgh, to victory at the inaugural World Cup held in France in 1954. In the Paris final, the hosts were defeated 16-12.

In the 1980s, the sport of rugby league experienced growth as new clubs like London Broncos (previously known as Fulham), Cardiff City, and Carlisle emerged. This surge of interest also led to Glasgow Rangers and Hearts, two football clubs, expressing their desire to establish their own rugby league teams.

In Scotland, the game of rugby was gaining popularity among students. Hence, the national team was formed in the year 1995. It participated in the Emerging Nations Tournament which was conducted parallel to the World Cup held in England and Wales during the same year.

The Bravehearts had their inaugural home game against Ireland in Glasgow in 1996. The game was held at Firhill, the home ground of Partick Thistle. In 2000, the stadium, along with Tynecastle, was chosen as a venue for the FIFA World Cup. Scotland has participated in five World Cups so far, and the first one was held at Firhill.

The national team has also utilized rugby union fields such as Old Anniesland, Hughenden, and Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, as well as Lochinch Park (which serves multiple purposes). Additionally, they have played at Meggetland and Myreside in Edinburgh, and Netherdale in Galashiels.

In August of 1997, Carlisle (now known as Border Raiders) traveled to Hawick RU Club to compete in a third-tier match against Lancashire Lynx. A total of 424 fans were in attendance and witnessed Carlisle's impressive 32-6 victory.

Back in July of 1998, a Super League game was held at Tynecastle as part of the 'On the Road' series. It was a match between Bradford Bulls and London Broncos, and to the surprise of many, the Broncos emerged victorious with a score of 22-8. The game was witnessed by a crowd of 6,863 people. Scotland's domestic league began in 1997, and in 1996, a team from Scotland participated in the Challenge Cup for the first time. The Border Eagles, who were the reigning champions, were defeated 34-10 in the first round by the Wath Brow Hornets. The game took place at Hughenden.

Due to Wembley's reconstruction work, the 2000 Challenge Cup final took place at Murrayfield, the location of the Scottish Rugby Union in Edinburgh. The distance between Murrayfield and Tynecastle is less than one mile. The final game was attended by 67,247 people and Bradford emerged victorious, defeating Leeds Rhinos with a score of 24-18. However, prior to the game, a severe flood occurred, which required a substantial clean-up operation.

Following the 2001 event at Twickenham, Murrayfield was once again utilized in 2002. A total of 62,140 spectators witnessed Wigan Warriors emerge victorious over St Helens with a score of 21-12.

Originally printed in the August 2023 edition of Rugby League World publication.

To obtain a hard copy of Rugby League World, follow the link and subscribe.

To access the digital version of this article, head over to Pocketmags.com where you can read it on your laptop, tablet, or mobile device.