Glasgow Academicals RFC

History

Glasgow Hawks

Main article: Glasgow Hawks

In 1997 the decision was made to combine the first XV's of Glasgow Academicals and close rivals Glasgow High Kelvinside (themselves a fairly new club having been formed when the struggling Glasgow High FP and Kelvinside Academicals clubs combined in 1982), something that was predicted would happen only after "hell freezes over". The combined team was named the Glasgow Hawks. The Hawks won the second division championship and the Scottish Cup in their first year and have since continued in the first division - winning the league in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and the Cup again in 2004 and 2007. Glenn Metcalfe together with Derek Stark and Gordon McIlwham became Scottish Internationals while Mike Beckham and Tommy Hayes played for the Cook Islands.

Glasgow Academicals

With the advent of the Hawks, the Glasgow Academicals lost many of their strong first XV but made the decision to continue as a league side for the following year - which under SRU rules meant that they had to rejoin the lowest league of Scottish rugby. In 1998 the club competed in Glasgow District division 3. The club raced back up through the leagues, being promoted as league champions five years in succession.

In 2016, their 150th year, they won West Regional League Division One giving them promotion to Scottish National League Division Three for 2016/17, after only losing one league game all season. Of the 157 clubs in the National and Regional leagues in 2015–16, only three had a winning % record which bettered Accies. Success came on the 9 April 2016 with a 26–7 win over Allan Glens at the Bearyards. Days after winning the league, the 150th year of the club was celebrated in April 2016, with a 1st XV match against a team mainly principally from West of Scotland F.C. but including representatives from the other six clubs who, along with Accies and West, had founded the SRU in 1873.

In recent years, the club has toured overseas to destinations including Zimbabwe (defeating leading province Matabeleland), United States (Carolina), Poland, in the 150th year Luxembourg, and most recently Budapest in 2017.

In 2017 the club finished third. They did win 13 games in a row, including a 163–10 defeat of Livingston, followed up by 95–0 against Greenock Wanderers the following week. The final “points for” tally in the league was 930 from 22 games – the highest in the national leagues – with a points difference of 600.

In April 2018, Accies secured promotion to National 2 with an 8-try win at Murrayfield Wanderers.

Glasgow Academicals Sevens

The club run the Glasgow Academicals Sevens. Their first Sevens tournament was in 1908 to raise funds to pay for their pavilion, but their Sevens was re-started in 1969 as an annual tournament.

Honours

• Scottish Unofficial Championship
  • Champions (14): 1871–72, 1872–73, 1873–74, 1875–76, 1876–77, 1882–83, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1929–30
• Scottish National League Division One
  • Champions (2): 1983–84, 1985–86
• Scottish National League Division Two
  • Champions (4): 1979–80, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2022–23
• Scottish National League Division Three
  • Runners-Up: 2017-18
• Glasgow District 3
  • Champions: 1998-99
• Glasgow District 2
  • Champions: 1999-2000
• Glasgow District 1
  • Champions: 2000-01
• Scottish National League Division Five
  • Champions: 2001-02
• Scottish National League Division Four
  • Champions: 2002-03
• BT Shield
  • Runners-up: 2003-04
• West League
  • Champions: 2015-16
• Glasgow Academicals Sevens
  • Champions: 1971, 1992
• West of Scotland Sevens
  • Champions: 2018, 2019, 2025
• Lochaber Sevens
  • Champions: 1993
• Kelvinside Academicals Sevens
  • Champions: 1976
• Arran Sevens
  • Champions: 2017
• Hillhead HSFP Sevens
  • Champions: 1969
• Glasgow University Sevens
  • Champions: 1941, 1962, 1964, 1969, 1982, 1999
• Clarkston Sevens
  • Champions: 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969
• Bearsden Sevens
  • Champions: 1977
• Strathendrick Sevens
  • Champions: 1992, 1993
• Allan Glen's Sevens
  • Champions: 1977, 1982, 1986
• Ayr Sevens
  • Champions: 1966, 1969, 1984
• Greenock Sevens
  • Champions: 1976
• Hawick Sevens
  • Champions (1): 1939
• Gala Sevens
  • Champions (1): 1939
• Kilmarnock Sevens
  • Champions: 1942
• Helensburgh Sevens
  • Champions: 2022
• Dundee City Sevens
  • Champions: 2022

SRU presidents

15 Glasgow Academicals have been President of the SRU:

• 1874–75 Albert Harvey
• 1878–79 George Raphael Fleming
• 1880–81 David Watson
• 1882–83 William Cross
• 1884–85 Malcolm Cross
• 1886–87 James S. Carrick
• 1903–04 Robert Greig
• 1911–12 William Andrew Walls
• 1924–25 Robert Campbell MacKenzie
• 1933–34 John MacGill
• 1953–54 Malcolm Allan
• 1956–57 Max Simmers
• 1963–64 Herbert Waddell
• 1969–70 George Crerar
• 1977–78 Frank Coutts

International players

Eighty-four players have played for , with five also playing tests for the . The team has also provided internationalists for and .

• Scotland JW Arthur (first capped 1871)
• Scotland William Davie Brown (first capped 1871) - Scotland captain in 1874-75
• Scotland Thomas Chalmers (first capped 1871)
• Scotland William Cross (first capped 1871) - scorer of the first ever international conversion SRU President 1882-83
• Scotland Daniel Drew (first capped 1871)
• Scotland John Shaw Thomson (first capped 1871) All six of these players played in the first ever rugby international - on 27 March 1871 - when Scotland beat England by 1 goal (2 tries) to nil (1 try).
• Scotland James H. McClure (first capped 1872) - with George - the first ever twins to be capped
• Scotland Henry William Allan (first capped 1873)
• Scotland Charles Chalmers Bryce (first capped 1873)
• Scotland George B. McClure (first capped 1873) - with James - the first ever twins to be capped
• Scotland Gilbert Heron (first capped 1874)
• Scotland John Kennedy Tod (first capped 1874)
• Scotland Allan Arthur (first capped 1875)
• Scotland Malcolm Cross (first capped 1875) - SRU President 1884-85
• Scotland George Raphael Fleming (first capped 1875)
• Scotland James S. Carrick (first capped 1876) - SRU President 1886-87
• Scotland John Junor (first capped 1876)
• Scotland David Watson (first capped 1876) - SRU President 1880-81
• Scotland Sir Robert C. McKenzie KBE CB (first capped 1877) - SRU President 1924-25
• Scotland Stewart Henry Smith (first capped 1877) - 2 caps
• Scotland James A. Campbell (first capped 1878)
• Scotland John Alexander Neilson (first capped 1878)
• Scotland Gussie Graham (first capped 1878)
• Scotland Duncan Irvine (first capped 1878)
• Scotland George Macleod (first capped 1878)
• Scotland John Blair Brown (first capped 1879)
• Scotland Edward Ewart (first capped 1879)
• Scotland David McCowan (first capped 1880)
• Scotland Bryce Allan (first capped 1881)
• Scotland James Fraser (first capped 1881)
• Scotland George Robb (first capped 1881)
• Scotland William Andrew Walls (first capped 1882) - SRU President 1911-12
• Scotland David Kidston (first capped 1883) 2 caps
• Scotland John Mowat (first capped 1883)
• Scotland J. French (first capped 1886)
• Scotland Flowerdew Macindoe (first capped 1886)
• Scotland Hugh Ker (first capped 1887)
• Scotland Alexander Woodrow (first capped 1887)
• Scotland James McKendrick (first capped 1889)
• Scotland Robert Greig (first capped 1893) - SRU President 1903-04
• Scotland David D. Robertson (first capped 1893) - 1900 Olympic bronze medal for GB at Golf
• SCO James Bishop (first capped 1893)
• Scotland Bill Donaldson (first capped 1893)
• Scotland Alexander Anderson (first capped 1894)
• Scotland Robert Stronach (first capped 1901)
• Scotland Lewis MacLeod (first capped 1904)
• Scotland William Milne (first capped 1904)
• Scotland Harold McCowat (first capped 1905)
• Scotland Douglas Schulze (first capped 1905)
• Scotland William Russell (first capped 1905)
• Scotland Tennant Sloan (first capped 1905)
• Scotland British and Irish Lions Louis Greig (first capped 1905) - 3 tests for British Lions (SA 1903)
• Scotland William Campbell Church (first capped 1906) † killed in WWI (Gallipoli)
• Scotland J. A. Brown (first capped 1908)
• Scotland Jimmy Dobson (first capped 1910) - 1 cap
• Robert "Bertie" B. Waddell, uncapped by Scotland, toured in 1910 with the "Combined British" squad to Argentina, retrospectively classed as a British Lions tour.
• Scotland Alexander Stevenson (first capped 1911)
• Scotland John Dobson (first capped 1911) - 6 caps
• Scotland Jack Warren (first capped 1914) - 1 cap
• Scotland Eric Templeton Young (first capped 1914) - 1 cap † killed in WWI (Gallipoli)
• Scotland Robert Gallie (first capped 1920) - 8 caps
• Scotland Eric MacKay (first capped 1920) - 2 caps
• Scotland George M. Murray (first capped 1921) - 2 caps
• Scotland J.C. "Jimmy" Dykes (first capped 1922) - 20 caps.
• Scotland Andrew Stevenson (first capped 1922) - 4 caps
• Scotland Ronald C. Warren (first capped 1922) - 5 caps
• Scotland Robert Simpson (first capped 1923) - 1 cap
• Scotland British and Irish Lions Herbert Waddell (first capped 1924) - 15 caps for Scotland and 3 tests for British Lions (SA 1924). - SRU President 1963-64
• Scotland James Gilchrist (first capped 1925) - 1 cap
• Scotland Jimmy Nelson, (first capped 1925) - 25 caps
• Scotland William H. Stevenson (first capped 1925) - 1 cap
• Scotland Max Simmers, (first capped 1926) - 28 caps - SRU President 1956-57
• Scotland British and Irish Lions Edward G. Taylor (first capped 1927) - 2 caps for Scotland and 3 tests for British Lions, 1927 "unofficial" tour to Argentina - Argentina's first ever test matches
• Scotland Harry Greenlees (first capped 1927) - 6 caps
• Scotland Thomas M. Hart (first capped 1930) - 2 caps - also capped twice for Scotland Cricket - 1933-34
• Scotland James Forrest (first capped 1932) - 3 caps
• Scotland Andrew Dykes (first capped 1932) - 1 cap
• Scotland Ronald O. Murray (first capped 1935) - 2 caps
• Scotland British and Irish Lions Laurie Duff (first capped 1936) - Scotland 6 caps and British Lions (1938 SA Tour - 2 tests, 2 tries)
• Scotland William Gibson Biggart (first capped 1943)
• Scotland C. Robert Bruce (first capped 1947) - 8 caps
• Scotland Frank Coutts (first capped 1947) - 3 caps - SRU President 1977-78
• Scotland J. Hamish" C. Dawson (first capped 1947) - 20 caps
• Scotland Brian Simmers (first capped 1965) - 7 caps - scorer of two dropped goals in one international (v Wales, 1965) - a record for Scotland held jointly with, among others, John Rutherford, Craig Chalmers and Dan Parks
• Scotland Mike A. Smith (first capped 1970) - 4 caps
• Scotland British and Irish Lions John Beattie (first capped 1980) - 25 caps for Scotland and 2 tests for British Lions (NZ 1983, Rest of the World 1986); member of Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam squad
• New Zealand Marty Berry (first capped 1986) - 1 cap - Glasgow Accies' first All Black
• Scotland Glenn Metcalfe (first capped 1998) - 40 caps - our most-capped internationalist; member of Scotland's 1999 Championship winning XV
• Scotland Johnnie Beattie (first capped 2006) - 38 caps - our most-capped former pupil; scorer of the 2010 6 Nations Try of the Tournament against Ireland
• Sweden Andreas Nilserius (first capped 2015) - Swedish cap from Glasgow Accies' 2015-16 Championship-winning squad
• Sweden Chris Nilserius (first capped 2016) - Swedish cap from 2015 to 2016 Championship-winning XV, currently playing in Glasgow Accies' 2016-17 1st XV
• Sweden Phillip Axelsson (first capped 2016) - Swedish cap currently playing in Glasgow Accies' 2016-17 1st XV
• Scotland Robert Beattie (first capped 2016) - won his first cap for Scotland 7s in the Cape Town Sevens in December 2016

References

• Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

References

1. "THE FIRST TEN YEARS : A short history of the short history of Glasgow Hawks RFC".
2. (17 December 1998). "An open bar and traditional rugby are just the ticket". The Herald.
3. (1 May 2004). "Shield rivals share the same home grown view". The Scotsman.
4. "Results". BBC News.
5. (7 June 2019). "Glasgow Academicals Sevens".
6. (16 June 2019). "West of Scotland Sevens".
7. (11 June 2019). "Lochaber Sevens".
8. (10 June 2019). "Kelvinside Academicals Sevens".
9. (10 June 2019). "Arran Sevens".
10. (9 June 2019). "Hillhead HSFP Sevens".
11. (7 June 2019). "Glasgow University Sevens".
12. (7 June 2019). "Clarkston Sevens".
13. (7 June 2019). "Bearsden Sevens".
14. (7 June 2019). "Strathendrick Sevens".
15. (7 June 2019). "Allan Glen's Sevens".
16. (7 June 2019). "Ayr Sevens".
17. (7 June 2019). "Greenock Sevens".
18. (7 June 2019). "Hawick Sevens".
19. (7 June 2019). "Gala Sevens".
20. (7 June 2019). "Kilmarnock Sevens".
21. (10 June 2019). "Helensburgh Sevens".
22. (2 August 2021). "Dundee City Sevens".
23. ''Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football''p41