Musselburgh Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. The team play their home games at Stoneyhill and currently compete in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby.

Musselburgh
Full nameMusselburgh Rugby Football Club
Founded15 February 1921; 103 years ago (15 February 1921)
LocationMusselburgh, Scotland
Ground(s)Stoneyhill (Capacity: 3,000[1])
PresidentBrian Jardine
Coach(es)Derek O'Riordan
Captain(s)Rory watt
League(s)Scottish Premiership
2021–22Scottish Premiership, 7th of 10
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.musselburghrfc.com

Musselburgh RFC first applied to join the Edinburgh & District League in 1921 but it is believed that the town had a team for at least 20 years before that.

History

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The club was formed in 1921 as a section of the Musselburgh Sports Club. They initially played their games at Shirehaugh which is now a practice green at The Musselburgh Golf Club in Monktonhall. During the 1930s The Musselburgh Sports Club changed its name to become Musselburgh Rugby Football Club in its entirety.

During 1951, the club moved from its home at Shirehaugh to a new pitch at Stoneyhill where the club currently resides. A clubhouse was built on the site and opened in 1971, with changing rooms added in 1984 and a gym added in 2021.

After the creation of the new leagues in Scotland the club were placed in the third division, ultimately falling to fifth division in 1975. However they bounced back and continued to climb up the leagues where they were promoted to the Premiership for the first time in 1987, lasting one season before being relegated.

The club continued to stay around the second and third tiers before a sharp fall to the regional leagues in the late 2000s. The team slowly climbed their way back up to the National leagues before winning National 2 in 2015. With the formation of the Super6 in 2018, the top six teams from National 1 had the chance to be promoted to the Premiership to join the remaining four teams. Musselburgh claimed a bonus point on the final day of the season to win the final spot.

Musselburgh Sevens

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The club runs the Musselburgh Sevens tournament.[2]

Honours

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  • Scottish National League Division Two
    • Champions (2): 1984–85, 2014–15
  • Musselburgh Sevens
    • Champions: 1949, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019[2]
  • Highland Sevens
    • Champions: 1956, 1958, 1963, 1978, 1979[3]
  • Preston Lodge Sevens
    • Champions: 1992, 1993[4]
  • Glasgow University Sevens
    • Champions: 1957[5]
  • Kelso Harlequins Sevens
    • Champions: 1990[6]
  • Haddington Sevens
    • Champions: 1993, 1995[7]
  • North Berwick Sevens
    • Champions: 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023[8]
  • Scottish Rugby Shield
    • Runners-Up: (1) 2011-12
  • Kelso Sevens
    • Champions (1): 1955[9]
  • Peebles Sevens
    • Champions (3): 1986, 1988, 1997[10]
  • Walkerburn Sevens
    • Champions (9): 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1990, 1993, 2002, 2003[11]
  • Edinburgh Northern Sevens
    • Champions (1): 2013[12]
  • Portobello Sevens
    • Champions (1): 2023[13]

Notable former players

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Ireland internationalists

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Glasgow Warriors players

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Edinburgh District

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The following former Musselburgh players have represented Edinburgh District at provincial level.

References

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  1. ^ "Musselburgh RFC". BetsAPI. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Musselburgh Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Highland Sevens". 10 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Preston Lodge Sevens". 9 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Glasgow University Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Kelso Harlequins Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Haddington Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  8. ^ "North Berwick Sevens". 19 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Kelso Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Peebles Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Walkerburn Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Edinburgh Northern Sevens". 7 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Portobello Sevens". 10 June 2019.
  14. ^ "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  15. ^ "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
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