Edinburgh Academical Football Club

The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. At present it plays in Scottish National League Division One league, the second tier of Scottish club rugby. The club's home ground is Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. They are coached by Derek O'Riordan and Iain Berthinussen.

Edinburgh Academical FC
Full nameThe Edinburgh Academical Football Club
UnionScottish Rugby Union
Nickname(s)Accies, Beuks, Acads
Founded1857 (1857)
LocationEdinburgh, Scotland
RegionEdinburgh
Ground(s)Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh (Capacity: 5,000)
Coach(es)Iain Berthinussen
Captain(s)Jamie Sole
League(s)Scottish Premiership
2018–19Scottish Premiership, 10th of 10
Team kit
Official website
www.edinburghaccies.com

The club regularly fields three teams and is also involved, with Broughton RFC and Trinity Accies RFC, in the BATs initiative, a community amateur sports club providing youth rugby across north Edinburgh.

Early history
The team for the 1878–79 season.

The club was formed in 1857 and is the oldest surviving football club of any code in Scotland,[1] and the second oldest rugby union club in continuous existence in the world, behind Dublin University Football Club (founded 1854). They were one of the founding members of the Scottish Rugby Union.

In the 1873–74 season, they played ten matches, and won all of them.[2]

Ground
Raeburn Place.

The Accies' home ground, Raeburn Place, is the location of the first rugby international. Seven players of the original Scotland side were Academicals, including the captain, FJ Moncrieff.[2]

Recent history

In season 2007–08, the club's 1st XV finished second in Premiership Division 2, thereby securing promotion to the Premiership Division 1. That same season they experienced a successful Scottish Cup run, reaching the final with victories over Premiership 1 teams Currie, Hawick and Boroughmuir. The team lost the final 24–13 to the Glasgow Hawks. The club played a match against the Barbarians in April 2008 to mark the club's 150th anniversary.[3] A book was also published that had been commissioned to celebrate the club's 150th anniversary, The Accies: The Cradle of Scottish Rugby.[4]

In season 2009–10 the club's 1st XV was relegated to Scottish Premier Division 2 after they lost to Heriot's FP in the last game of the season and on the same day Watsonian's beat Melrose.

In season 2010–11 the club were Premier 2 League champions and returned to the top level of Scottish club rugby, the Premier 1 League, for the 2011–12 season. They remained in the Scottish Premiership after the restructure of the Scottish league system.

Honours

Notable players

British and Irish Lions

The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented the British and Irish Lions.

Scotland internationalists

The following (not previously listed above) former Edinburgh Academical players have represented Scotland at full international level in rugby union.

Other internationalists

The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented their nations at full international level.

Cricket

The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented both the Scotland rugby union team and the Scotland cricket team.[5]

Rugby league

The following have represented Scotland at full international level.

References
  • Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1)
  • Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; ISBN 0-904919-84-6)
  1. Edinburgh Accies Club History, "Edinburgh Academical Football Club History". Edinburgh Academical Football Club. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. Bath, p86
  3. "Barbarians: A club in touch with history". The Scotsman. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. Morrison, Ian (24 January 2009). "Book review: The Accies: The Cradle of Scottish Rugby". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1-905326-24-6), pp 104, 105; note list shows initials not full names
  • Official website
  • 'The Accies - The Cradle of Scottish Rugby' - Club history written by David Barnes
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