Scotland v Tonga

Edinburgh hosted the very first international rugby match in 1871; the city has been its spiritual home ever since.

On 27 March 1871, Scotland faced England at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh in what is recognised as the first international rugby union match. Scotland won by one goal and one try to England's single try. The fixture established Edinburgh as a spiritual home of international rugby, a status the city has never relinquished.

Missionaries brought the ball; by 1923, Tonga had built an entire union around it.

Rugby had been played in Tonga since the early 1900s, introduced by missionaries and colonial administrators. The formal establishment of the Tonga Rugby Football Union in 1923 gave the sport an organised structure on the islands. Tonga played their first international match the following year, beginning a journey that would eventually bring the Sea Eagles to the world stage.

Tonga walked onto the World Cup stage in 1987 alongside Wales and Ireland; debut and global recognition arriving in the same breath.

The first Rugby World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, included Tonga among its 16 competing nations. The Sea Eagles were drawn in a pool with Wales, Ireland and Canada. Though they lost all three group matches, their presence confirmed Tonga's standing as a genuine force in Pacific rugby. The same year, Tonga joined the International Rugby Football Board.

Thirty-six unanswered points told one story; the collisions at Pretoria told quite another.

The two nations' first encounter came on 30 May 1995 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria during the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup. Scotland ran out comfortable 41-5 winners, with Gavin Hastings captaining the side. For Tonga, the match was part of a difficult return to the World Cup after failing to qualify in 1991. The fixture established a pattern: Scotland dominant on the scoreboard, Tonga ferocious in the contact area.

Three tries for Tonga in defeat told its own story about Pacific Island rugby at Murrayfield in 1999.

Scotland hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup, and Tonga were drawn in the same pool. The match at Murrayfield on 10 October 1999 saw Scotland win 43-20, but Tonga's three tries demonstrated the attacking threat the Pacific Islanders could pose. Playing in front of a passionate Edinburgh crowd, Tonga earned respect even in defeat.

France reached the final that year. Tonga had already beaten them.

Though not a Scotland fixture, Tonga's 19-14 victory over France at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand was a watershed moment for Pacific Island rugby. France would go on to reach the final, making the result all the more remarkable. The win proved that Tonga, with their bone-shaking tackling and fearless running, could beat anyone on their day. It changed how Tier 1 nations prepared for meetings with the Sea Eagles.

Six points separated the sides; Pittodrie's north-east faithful had earned every one of them.

As part of the IRB's International Rugby Series, Scotland hosted Tonga at Pittodrie in Aberdeen on 24 November 2012. Scotland won 21-15, but the narrow margin told its own story. Tonga pushed Scotland hard throughout, and the decision to take the match outside Edinburgh gave fans in the north-east a rare taste of international rugby.

Rugby Park, Kilmarnock: a modest ground, a 37-12 scoreline, and a World Cup audition ticked firmly off.

Scotland continued the practice of taking autumn internationals to smaller venues, hosting Tonga at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock on 22 November 2014. Scotland won 37-12 in a more convincing display, with the match serving as preparation for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. For Tonga, these autumn tours to the Northern Hemisphere remain vital for development and exposure against top-tier opposition.