Ireland v Scotland

Scotland put six goals past a side that had played just one international before this meeting.

On 19 February 1877, Ireland played Scotland for the first time at Ormeau Cricket Ground in Belfast. Scotland won by six goals and two tries to nil, a comprehensive victory in an era when the game was still finding its shape. Ireland had only played one previous international, against England in 1875, and the fledgling side was no match for a more established Scottish outfit.

A single championship changed everything; suddenly, the friendly fixture had a title worth fighting for.

The inaugural Home Nations Championship in 1883 gave the Ireland v Scotland fixture a formal competitive framework for the first time. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales now played each other annually, with a championship title at stake. The tournament gave structure and purpose to what had been a loose calendar of friendlies, and the Celtic rivalry between Ireland and Scotland quickly became one of its most keenly contested fixtures.

Lansdowne Road had been staging international rugby since 1876; even France's arrival in 1910 couldn't upstage that pedigree.

France's admission to the championship in 1910 expanded the tournament to five nations and raised the stakes. Ireland and Scotland continued to alternate home advantage, with Dublin's Lansdowne Road, the world's oldest international rugby ground, hosting the fixture in even-numbered years. The ground had been used for rugby since 1876 and lent the Dublin leg of the rivalry a sense of deep-rooted tradition.

A defence so miserly it conceded just three points across four matches; a Grand Slam that would not be repeated for 61 years.

Ireland's 1948 Five Nations campaign remains one of the great achievements in the fixture's history. Karl Mullen's side won all four matches, including a 6-0 victory over Scotland at Lansdowne Road, to claim Ireland's first Grand Slam. It would be their only Grand Slam for 61 years. The victory over Scotland was built on ferocious forward play and a defence that conceded just three points across the entire championship.

A two-handled Gaelic drinking cup; the Celts have always known how to make a rivalry feel personal.

In 1989, the Centenary Quaich was introduced to mark the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board. A quaich is a traditional Gaelic two-handled drinking cup, a fitting symbol for a rivalry steeped in Celtic heritage. The trophy is contested annually as part of the Six Nations Championship, and its introduction gave the fixture its own piece of silverware, separate from the main tournament prize.

Italy's arrival in 2000 turned a five-team championship into a six-round marathon; Ireland and Scotland felt every extra yard.

Italy's inclusion in 2000 transformed the Five Nations into the Six Nations, adding an extra fixture weekend and increasing the tournament's commercial profile. For Ireland and Scotland, the expanded format meant the Centenary Quaich match now sat within a longer, more gruelling championship. Both sides found the early years of the Six Nations era challenging, though Ireland's fortunes would soon shift dramatically under new coaching structures.

A brand-new 51,700-capacity arena on a site that has hosted international rugby since 1878.

The Aviva Stadium opened in May 2010 on the site of the old Lansdowne Road ground, which had been demolished in 2007. The new 51,700-capacity arena, designed by Populous and Scott Tallon Walker, brought world-class facilities to a location that had hosted international rugby since 1878. Ireland's first Six Nations match at the Aviva came in February 2011, when they beat France 25-22 in a memorable opener. The ground quickly established itself as one of European rugby's finest venues.

Ireland ended 2018 ranked first in the world; Schmidt's Grand Slam campaign left no room for doubt.

Joe Schmidt's Ireland claimed a third Grand Slam in 2018, beating Scotland 28-8 at the Aviva Stadium in round two. It was a statement performance: Jacob Stockdale scored two tries and Ireland's defence suffocated Scotland's attacking ambitions. The victory was part of a dominant campaign that saw Ireland win all five matches and finish the year ranked number one in the world for the first time in their history.

Back-to-back Quaich titles under Farrell; Ireland have made Dublin the undisputed home of northern hemisphere rugby.

Ireland have dominated the Centenary Quaich in recent years, winning the trophy in both 2023 and 2024 as part of consecutive Six Nations title campaigns. Under Andy Farrell, Ireland have become the most consistent side in the northern hemisphere, and the Dublin fixture against Scotland has become a benchmark for both teams' championship ambitions. Ireland hold a commanding overall lead in the series, having won 73 of the 144 meetings to Scotland's 66, with five draws.