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Scottish rugby can boast that they hosted and won the first international rugby match played.

The match in 1871, between two teams of 20 players each, was played against England at Academical Cricket Club's ground at Raeburn Place, adjacent to the main street of Stockbridge, Edinburgh.

These playing fields were used by Scotland rugby for their home internationals until the 1920s when they moved to their present headquarters at Murrayfield.

The Scotland team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and were especially strong in the early years of the Championship.

They won or shared the title six times during the initial Home Nations Championship’s first nine years from 1883.

The very first international against England was the beginning of the strong rivalry with England and the two teams still compete annually for the Calcutta Cup, the oldest trophy in rugby.

The Six Nations fixture doubles up as the fixture to decide the Calcutta Cup holder.

The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and over 100 matches have taken place since then. Scotland has competed in all nine Rugby World Cup tournaments with their best performance a lost play-off for third place against the All Blacks in 1991.

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