Scotland Rugby
The history of rugby league in Scotland goes back to 1909 when the touring Australian team played a match against England at Celtic Park, Glasgow. As football and, to lesser extent, rugby union were already well established in Scotland, rugby league did not make much of an impact, and until recently all Scottish rugby league players were converts from union. Only fourteen Scottish players made this switch prior to the ending of discrimination against playing rugby league, the most famous of whom was Dave Valentine, who captained Great Britain to World Cup victory in 1954.
In 1995, the full Scottish national team made its debut, losing narrowly to Ireland and later playing in the Emerging Nations section of the 1995 World Cup. Captained by Alan Tait they beat Russia and the U.S.A., before going down to eventual winners, the Cook Islands.
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