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1854
Raeburn Place opens for play
Raeburn Place was acquired by former pupils of the Edinburgh Academy in 1853 for use as a cricket and general sports ground, making it the oldest bespoke sports ground in Scotland. The ground, which was initially leased for £53.17s.4d, opened for play in May 1854 and has been in almost continuous use since, the exception being during the war years when the ground was used for food production.
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1855
Edinburgh Academical Cricket Club (EACC) founded
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1857
Edinburgh Academical Football Club (EAFC) founded
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1871
Scotland and England play first international
The first rugby international took place at Raeburn Place on 27 March 1871. Scotland took on England in front of a crowd of 4,000 and, to the home support’s delight, won the encounter by two tries and a goal to England’s single try.
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1871
Rugby Football Union established
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1873
Scottish Football Union (later SRU) established
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1879
First Calcutta Cup match played at Raeburn Place
The Calcutta Cup, which is the oldest trophy in world rugby, is competed for annually by Scotland and England. The trophy was donated to the RFU and first played for in 1879 at Raeburn Place.
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1883
Inaugural Home Nations’ tournament
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1886
International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby) established
The 1880s witnessed the Great Dispute which led to the establishment of a world body governing the laws of the game.
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1891
First official British Lions’ tour, to South Africa
1891 saw the first officially-sanctioned British rugby tour, with a 21-man party invited to South Africa by the Western Province union and all costs underwritten by the Cape Colony Prime Minister, Cecil Rhodes.
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1895
Final international played at Raeburn Place (Scotland v Ireland)
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1910
Inaugural Five Nations’ tournament with the inclusion of France
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1925
Scotland’s first Grand Slam win
Scotland won its first Grand Slam victory on 21 March 1925, with an exciting final match against England at the newly opened Murrayfield Stadium in front of a record crowd of 70,000.
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1984
Scotland’s second Grand Slam win
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1987
Inaugural Rugby World Cup
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1990
Scotland’s third Grand Slam win
17 March 1990, Murrayfield: the stage is set for a climatic end to the Five Nations’ Championship with the Championship, Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup all to be decided by the outcome of the Scotland v England match.
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1993
Women’s rugby, Scotland v Ireland, first international for both sides, held at Raeburn Place
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1994
Women’s Rugby World Cup final held at Raeburn Place
The 1994 Women’s World Cup had been scheduled to be played in the Netherlands, but that country pulled out of the competition when the IRB withheld its endorsement. An alternative competition was staged in Scotland with 11 of the original 16 entrants taking part.
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1999
Scotland wins final Five Nations’ tournament
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2000
Inaugural Six Nations’ tournament with the inclusion of Italy
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2004
U21 World Cup pool matches played at Raeburn Place
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2015
Rugby World Cup
International rugby has come a long way since that first game at Raeburn Place in 1871. Rugby Union is now a truly global sport with an international governing body, World Rugby, and its own top prize, the Rugby World Cup (RWC).
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