Rugby Union in Scotland - Popularity

Popularity

Rugby union is not the national sport in Scotland, being far behind football. It is most popular in the Borders region where it is played widely, although even here ground is being lost to football with professionalism and migration contributing to the challenges facing the game . In the rest of the country rugby tends to be played mainly by private schools.

Whilst attendances at club matches in Scotland are fairly poor, the national team draws a sizeable crowd to Murrayfield for Six Nations matches. Some traditionalists claim that in recent years the national rugby union team has become a focal point for football-type sporting nationalism.

Aside from Murrayfield, there are few major rugby stadiums in Scotland. Many clubs in the Scottish Borders have grandstands and city sides in Edinburgh and Glasgow also have seated, covered stands.

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