Glasgow Academicals RFC

The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union (the future SRU) in 1873.

Glasgow Academicals
Full nameThe Glasgow Academical Football Club
UnionSRU
Nickname(s)Accies
Founded1866 (1866)
LocationGlasgow, Scotland
RegionGlasgow
Ground(s)New Anniesland
formerly Old Anniesland
Burnbank Park
Coach(es)Ryan Grant (Head Coach), Ruaridh Jackson ,Duncan Weir
Captain(s)Kane Greggain
League(s)Scottish National League Division Two
2021–22Scottish National League Division Two, 6th of 12
Team kit
Official website
www.glasgowacciesrfc.com

History

Glasgow Hawks
Main article: Glasgow Hawks
The 1911–12 squad

In 1997 the decision was made to combine the first XV's of Glasgow Academicals and close rivals Glasgow High Kelvinside (themselves a fairly new club having been formed when the struggling Glasgow High FP and Kelvinside Academicals clubs combined in 1982), something that was predicted would happen only after "hell freezes over".[1] The combined team was named the Glasgow Hawks. The Hawks won the second division championship and the Scottish Cup in their first year and have since continued in the first division - winning the league in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and the Cup again in 2004 and 2007. Glenn Metcalfe together with Derek Stark and Gordon McIlwham became Scottish Internationals while Mike Beckham and Tommy Hayes played for the Cook Islands.

Glasgow Academicals

With the advent of the Hawks, the Glasgow Academicals lost many of their strong first XV but made the decision to continue as a league side for the following year - which under SRU rules meant that they had to rejoin the lowest league of Scottish rugby. In 1998 the club competed in Glasgow District division 3.[2] The club raced back up through the leagues, being promoted as league champions five years in succession.[3]

In 2016, their 150th year, they won West Regional League Division One giving them promotion to Scottish National League Division Three for 2016/17, after only losing one league game all season. Of the 157 clubs in the National and Regional leagues in 2015–16, only three had a winning % record which bettered Accies. Success came on the 9 April 2016 with a 26–7 win over Allan Glens at the Bearyards. Days after winning the league, the 150th year of the club was celebrated in April 2016, with a 1st XV match against a team mainly principally from West of Scotland F.C. but including representatives from the other six clubs who, along with Accies and West, had founded the SRU in 1873.

In recent years, the club has toured overseas to destinations including Zimbabwe (defeating leading province Matabeleland), United States (Carolina), Poland, in the 150th year Luxembourg, and most recently Budapest in 2017.

In 2017 the club finished third. They did win 13 games in a row, including a 163–10 defeat of Livingston,[4] followed up by 95–0 against Greenock Wanderers the following week. The final “points for” tally in the league was 930 from 22 games – the highest in the national leagues – with a points difference of 600.

In April 2018, Accies secured promotion to National 2 with an 8-try win at Murrayfield Wanderers.

Glasgow Academicals Sevens

The club run the Glasgow Academicals Sevens. Their first Sevens tournament was in 1908 to raise funds to pay for their pavilion, but their Sevens was re-started in 1969 as an annual tournament.[5]

Honours
  • Scottish Unofficial Championship
    • Champions (14): 1871–72, 1872–73, 1873–74, 1875–76, 1876–77, 1882–83, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1929–30
  • Scottish National League Division One
    • Champions (2): 1983–84, 1985–86
  • Scottish National League Division Two
    • Champions (4): 1979–80, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2022–23
  • Scottish National League Division Three
    • Runners-Up: 2017-18
  • Glasgow District 3
    • Champions: 1998-99
  • Glasgow District 2
    • Champions: 1999-2000
  • Glasgow District 1
    • Champions: 2000-01
  • Scottish National League Division Five
    • Champions: 2001-02
  • Scottish National League Division Four
    • Champions: 2002-03
  • BT Shield
    • Runners-up: 2003-04
  • West League
    • Champions: 2015-16
  • Glasgow Academicals Sevens[5]
    • Champions: 1971, 1992
  • West of Scotland Sevens[6]
    • Champions: 2018, 2019
  • Lochaber Sevens[7]
    • Champions: 1993
  • Kelvinside Academicals Sevens[8]
    • Champions: 1976
  • Arran Sevens[9]
    • Champions: 2017
  • Hillhead HSFP Sevens[10]
    • Champions: 1969
  • Glasgow University Sevens[11]
    • Champions: 1941, 1962, 1964, 1969, 1982, 1999
  • Clarkston Sevens[12]
    • Champions: 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969
  • Bearsden Sevens[13]
    • Champions: 1977
  • Strathendrick Sevens[14]
    • Champions: 1992, 1993
  • Allan Glen's Sevens[15]
    • Champions: 1977, 1982, 1986
  • Ayr Sevens[16]
    • Champions: 1966, 1969, 1984
  • Greenock Sevens[17]
    • Champions: 1976
  • Hawick Sevens[18]
    • Champions (1): 1939
  • Gala Sevens[19]
    • Champions (1): 1939
  • Kilmarnock Sevens[20]
    • Champions: 1942
  • Helensburgh Sevens[21]
    • Champions: 2022
  • Dundee City Sevens[22]
    • Champions: 2022

SRU presidents

15 Glasgow Academicals have been President of the SRU:

International players

Eighty-four players have played for Scotland,[23] with five also playing tests for the British Lions. The team has also provided internationalists for New Zealand and Sweden.

All six of these players played in the first ever rugby international - on 27 March 1871 - when Scotland beat England by 1 goal (2 tries) to nil (1 try).

References
  1. "THE FIRST TEN YEARS : A short history of the short history of Glasgow Hawks RFC". Archived from the original on 21 April 2009.
  2. "An open bar and traditional rugby are just the ticket". The Herald. 17 December 1998. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  3. "Shield rivals share the same home grown view". The Scotsman. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  4. "Results". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  5. "Glasgow Academicals Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  6. "West of Scotland Sevens". 16 June 2019.
  7. "Lochaber Sevens". 11 June 2019.
  8. "Kelvinside Academicals Sevens". 10 June 2019.
  9. "Arran Sevens". 10 June 2019.
  10. "Hillhead HSFP Sevens". 9 June 2019.
  11. "Glasgow University Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  12. "Clarkston Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  13. "Bearsden Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  14. "Strathendrick Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  15. "Allan Glen's Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  16. "Ayr Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  17. "Greenock Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  18. "Hawick Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  19. "Gala Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  20. "Kilmarnock Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  21. "Helensburgh Sevens". 10 June 2019.
  22. "Dundee City Sevens". 2 August 2021.
  23. Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Footballp41
  • Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; ISBN 0-904919-84-6)
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