Auld Alliance Trophy
SportRugby union
Instituted2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Number of teams2
Country France
 Scotland
Holders France (2023)
Most titles France
 Scotland (3 titles)

The Auld Alliance Trophy is a trophy in rugby union awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Scotland.

The Trophy was first awarded in 2018, the centenary of the end of World War I, to commemorate the French and Scottish rugby players who were killed during the conflict, in particular the captains of the two nations in the last matches played before the First World War – Eric Milroy (Scotland) and Marcel Burgun (France).[1] The Trophy was carried on to the pitch at Murrayfield before the Six Nations match by Lachlan Ross and Romain Cabanis, 11-year-old descendants of the Milroy and Burgun families.[2] In all, 30 Scottish and 22 French internationals were killed in the war.

Manufactured from solid silver by Thomas Lyte & Co. and featuring a design of poppies and cornflowers for remembrance,[3] the Trophy was promoted to the Scottish Rugby Union and the Fédération française de rugby by Patrick Caublot of Amiens Rugby Club and by David Anderson, Milroy's great-great-nephew.[4]

The Trophy is inscribed, in English and French, with the words: "In memory of Eric Milroy, Marcel Burgun and all the French and Scottish rugby players who fell during World War I".

The name is a reference to the 13th century Auld Alliance between France and Scotland.

Overall, as of 2021 there have been 98 matches between the two countries.[5] There have been three Rugby World Cup meetings, each time in the initial pool stage, with the first fixture ending in a draw (20–20 in 1987) and France winning both of the others (22–19 in 1995, and 51–9 in 2003). Recently in October 2022, a descendant of Eric Milroy could be identified, it is Ollie Smith player of the Glagows Warriors and the Scottish rugby team

Matches

Host nation Played  France wins  Scotland wins Drawn France points Scotland points
France France 3 2 1 0 82 58
Scotland Scotland 3 1 2 0 79 77
Overall 6 3 3 0 161 135

Results

Year Date Venue Home Score Away Trophy
Winner
2018 11 February Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  32–26  France Scotland
2019 23 February Stade de France, Paris France  27–10  Scotland France
2020 8 March Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  28–17  France Scotland
2021 26 March Stade de France, Paris France  23–27  Scotland Scotland
2022 26 February Murrayfield, Edinburgh Scotland  17–36  France France
2023 26 February Stade de France, Paris France  32–21  Scotland France

See also

References

  1. ^ "Auld Alliance Trophy unveiled". www.scottishrugby.org. Scottish Rugby Union. 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  2. ^ Shute, Joe (10 February 2018). "Scotland v France, 2018: how the heroism of two fallen rugby rivals lives on". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Laurina (10 February 2018). "The Auld Alliance Trophy". Thomas Lyte. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. ^ McPartlin, Patrick (9 February 2018). "Six Nations: Scotland and France to contest new Auld Alliance Trophy". The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Games played between Scotland and France". Rugby Data. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
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