Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish National League Division One, the 2nd tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Place, in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. The team is coached by Charlie Shiel, Jamie Sole, and Simon Berghan.
The club regularly fields three teams and is also involved with Broughton and Trinity Accies in the Edinburgh BATs initiative, a community amateur sports club providing youth rugby across northern Edinburgh.
History The club was formed in 1857 and is the oldest surviving football club of any code in Scotland,Edinburgh Accies Club History, 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.
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. A book was also published that had been commissioned to celebrate the club's 150th anniversary, The Accies: The Cradle of Scottish Rugby.
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.
Ground
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.Bath, p86
Honours Men Scottish Unofficial Championship Champions (16 + 4 shared): 1865–66, 1866–67, 1867–68, 1868–69, 1870–71, 1874–75, 1876–77 (with Glasgow Academicals), 1877–78, 1878–79 (with Glasgow Academicals), 1879–80 (with Glasgow Academicals), 1885–86, 1886–87, 1887–88, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1899–1900 (with Edinburgh University and Hawick), 1905–06, 1929–30, 1955–56 Scottish National League Division One Champions (3): 1996–97, 2010–11, 2017–18 Runners–Up (2): 2007–08, 2016–17 Scottish National League Division Two Champions (2): 1999–00, 2003–04 Scottish Cup Runners–Up (2): 2006–07, 2023–24 Langholm Sevens Champions (1): 1929 Melrose Sevens Champions (3): 1928, 1930, 1949 Hawick Sevens Champions (3): 1929, 1936, 1946 (jointly fielded team with Edinburgh Wanderers) Gala Sevens Champions (1): 2019 Peebles Sevens Champions (3): 1947 (jointly fielded team with Edinburgh Wanderers), 1984, 1989 Edinburgh Charity Sevens Champions (5): 1929, 1932, 1933, 1942 (jointly fielded team with Edinburgh Wanderers), 1945 (jointly fielded team with Edinburgh Wanderers) Highland Sevens Champions (9): 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1998 Edinburgh Borderers Sevens Champions (1): 1966 Broughton Sevens Champions (1): 2007 Lismore Sevens Champions (4): 1975, 1982, 1986, 1991 Haddington Sevens Champions (1): 1989 Edinburgh Northern Sevens Champions (1): 2015 Musselburgh Sevens Champions (2): 1979, 1992 Berwick Sevens Champions (1): 2023 Jed-Forest Sevens Champions (1): 2025
Women Mull Sevens Champions (4): 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 Edinburgh Northern Sevens Champions (1): 2001
Notable players British and Irish Lions The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented the British and Irish Lions.
Rodger Arneil Mike Blair Alf Bucher Stan Coughtrie Jimmy Gillespie Scott Murray Robert Miln Neill David Sole Rob Wainwright
Scotland internationalists The following (not previously listed above) former Edinburgh Academical players have represented Scotland at full international level in rugby union.
John Allan Lewis Bell Dave Callam Alexander Clay Jack Crabbie George Crabbie David Denton Francis Dods John Dods Cornell du Preez Douglas Elliot Arthur Finlay James Finlay Ninian Finlay George Gallie John Gordon Ian Graham Gussie Graham Chris Gray Ian Henderson Mac Henderson Hamish Inglis Bulldog Irvine Duncan Irvine Walter Irvine William Lyall Donnie Macfadyen John Macphail George Macleod Arthur Marshall William Marshall Hugh Martin George Maxwell Tommy McClung John McCrow Bill McEwan Saxon McEwan Dave McIvor James Mein Stuart Moffat Alex Moore William Morrison Scott Murray Brian Neill George Paterson Tom Philip Charles Reid James Reid Jeremy Richardson Alec Robertson Duncan Robertson Ernest Roland Graham Ross William Roughead James Sanderson Jock Scott Hamish Shaw Allen Sloan Donald Sloan Pat Smeaton Errol Smith Archibald Stewart Barry Stewart Jock Stewart John Guthrie Tait Thomas Torrie Phipps Turnbull Gordon Watt Tom White Francis Wright Arthur Young
Other internationalists
The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented their nations at full international level. Bill McEwan Alastair Reed
Cross-Sporting internationalists
Cricket The following former Edinburgh Academical players have represented both the Scotland rugby union team and the Scotland cricket team.Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ), pp 104, 105; note list shows initials not full names
Leslie Balfour-Melville Edward Bannerman Bill Maclagan Kenneth Marshall Thomas Marshall Henry Stevenson Ben Tod
Rugby league The following have represented Scotland at full international level. P. J. Solomon
SRU presidents
Former Edinburgh Academicals have been President of the SRU: 1883–84 Gussie Graham 1893–94 Leslie Balfour-Melville
References Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997, ). Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; ).
External links
'The Accies – The Cradle of Scottish Rugby' – Club history written by David Barnes