Ceremony caps retrospective Scotland Men project

23 Feb 2024

Ahead of tomorrow’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations fixture at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, 26 players were awarded full cap status at a ceremony on the eve of the Calcutta Cup.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 23: Scotland team picture during a Scotland team run at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, on February 23, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Ahead of tomorrow’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations fixture at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, 26 players were awarded full cap status at a ceremony on the eve of the Calcutta Cup, with invited friends and family in attendance to share in a special experience.

Pictured: New Scotland cap 1189 Mark Moncrieff chats to fellow Gala cap Gregor Townsend (number 886).

The fourth and final such ceremony, for Scotland Men, drew a close to a project over a year in the making, with 75 players added to the list of internationalists.

In a timeframe spanning the 1942 Services International between Scotland and England at Inverleith until a 1998 Rugby World Cup qualifier against Spain, the Scottish Rugby Union Custodian Board ratified an initial 57 identified players, with 18 more following suit.

Following on from November’s initial capping ceremony, which honoured those to have played in largely Service and Victory international matches in the 1940s, players and their families from more recent matches were invited to the national stadium for a special event to receive their cap and view the current Scotland squad’s team run.

Two weeks ago, on the eve of Scotland v France, a total of 19 now-capped players were

were met on stage by Scottish Rugby President Colin Rigby to receive the same style cap which has been bestowed upon every player since John Arthur was listed as the first in 1871.

Additionally, a special ceremony for Jim Carswell, cap number 1173, who lives in a nursing home in Cheltenham, was carried out on 13 February where Richie Dixon (now #1199) was on presentation duties.

Following the research to award retrospective caps in the men’s game, Scottish Rugby will also ensure that all players to have represented Scotland Women will receive a cap, as the physical cap presentation was not always a part of the women’s game in the past.

Scottish Rugby will also embark on a project to ensure that all our international referees, in both the men’s and women’s game, will be recognised with a physical cap.

The list of those to receive their retrospective cap on 22 Friday 2024 (Scotland cap number in brackets):