The Men's Scottish Varsity Rugby Match 2023
The 2023 Men's Scottish Varsity Rugby Match will take place in St Andrews on Saturday 23 September.
Believed to be the oldest Varsity match in the world, this year’s fixture will kick-off at 2pm on Saturday 23 September, at University Park in St Andrews. For the first time the fixture will be preceded by a mixed Touch Rugby match which will kick off at 1.15pm.
Be part of the Ancient Rivalry
Tickets for the 2023 Men’s Scottish Varsity Match will be released on Monday 4 September. There are a limited number of tickets so purchase early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets for Edinburgh students, staff and supporters - £12.50* including return bus travel to Edinburgh
Tickets for Edinburgh students, staff and supporters will be available from the Edinburgh University Sports Union Website.
Find out more about the 2023 Men's Scottish Varsity Match and tickets for the fixture at scottishvarsitymatch.com
*Plus transaction fee
Subsidised bus transport
To make travel to St Andrews easier for Edinburgh supporters, tickets include subsidised bus transport from Edinburgh.
Buses will leave at 11am and arrive back at approximately 6pm from 5 locations around the city:
- Location 1: Peffermill Playing Fields
- Location 2: St Leonard’s Land
- Location 3: Pleasance Sport Complex and Gym
- Location 4: Pollock Halls
- Location 5: George Square
Wheelchair accessible buses will be available from Peffermill and Pleasance Sport Complex and Gym.
About the match
Formed in 1857 and 1858, respectively, Edinburgh University RFC and the University of St Andrews RFC are two of the oldest rugby clubs in the world, with only Edinburgh Academical FC claiming a longer existence in Scotland. The fixture between the two clubs, dating back more than 160 years, is believed to predate the annual Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity Match.
The event was reintroduced in 2011 at the Richmond Athletic ground in London before returning to Scotland, on the International Pitch at BT Murrayfield, between 2014 and 2019. Following a two year hiatus, due the global Corona virus pandemic, the fixture returned in 2021 in a closed doors match at the University of St Andrews and then in-front of a crowd of over 1500 at The University of Edinburgh's Peffermill Playing Fields in 2022.
The Women’s Scottish Varsity match
Equality is at the heart of both the University of Edinburgh and University of St Andrews sporting ethos and both Universities are completely committed to supporting their women’s rugby programmes, women’s rugby and women’s sport.
Since the introduction of the Women’s Varsity match in 2014, it has become clear that there is a clear disparity between the two women’s teams. We have therefore made the difficult decision, in consultation with, and supported by, both the Edinburgh and St Andrews Women’s Rugby Clubs, that to protect player welfare and safety we will be unable to stage a Women’s Varsity fixture this year.
Both Universities will be offering alternative support during this year to their respective clubs.