Scottish Rugby donates a thousand tickets for troops

Scottish Rugby has donated a thousand tickets for troops for the RBS 6 Nations game against Italy at BT Murrayfield Stadium this Saturday (28 February).   The organisation Tickets for Troops provides free tickets to the men and women of the Armed Forces for a variety of sporting, musical and cultural events, with the well-deserved opportunity to enjoy an event of their choice with their friends and families.   Scottish Rugby has a history of providing tickets, most recently for the match against Argentina in last year’s viagogo Autumn Tests. Veronica Bamford, Director of Operations at Tickets for Troops, said: These donations emphasise to our members that organisations across the UK understand the challenges that they face or have faced. We always get great feedback from the troops and they are always expressing their gratitude.” The partnership is a reflection of the national team’s close relationship with the Armed Forces, a relationship that began during World War One.   The Great War had an unprecedented effect on rugby union, but hit the Scottish team the hardest.   Some 30 Scottish international rugby players lost their lives during World War One, which was more than any other nation, a further 15 players were killed in World War Two.   All of the members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives in both World Wars are commemorated on the war memorial arch outside BT Murrayfield Stadium.   Two of those international stars were forward David Bedell-Sivright and scrum-half Eric Milroy.   Edinburgh-born Befell-Sivright revelled in being recognised as the roughest and toughest player in the game, and held the title of Scottish heavyweight boxing champion to back-up that reputation.   The Rugby Football Internationals’ Roll of Honour quoted the 1904 British Isles captain as saying: When I go on to that field I only see the ball, and should someone be in the road, that is his own lookout.”   On the other side of the ropes, the all-round sportsman saved lives as a doctor and naval surgeon during the war.   He died at Gallipoli on 5 September 1915, aged 34.   Eric ‘Puss’ Milroy, who served with the Black Watch, played his last game for Scotland as captain in the 16-15 defeat by England at Inverleith in March 1914.   Of the 30 men who took to the field that day, 11 did not survive the war. Dominic McKay, Scottish Rugby’s Director of Commercial Operations, Communications and Public Affairs, said:Partnerships such as the one we have with Tickets for Troops are vitally important and we are proud to offer RBS 6 Nations tickets as a way of continuing to support today’s troops, especially given the way in which our team has been affected by previous conflicts.”