Scots rugby heroes party in style after famous win
● Laidlaw and Russell treat fans to Flower of Scotland in city nightclub
Scotland’s conquering rugby heroes celebrated their Calcutta Cup victory over the Auld Enemy in style.
Scrum-half Greig Laidlaw wasted no time in getting the party started as soon as the final whistle brought down the curtain on a stunning 25-13 win over England at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Laidlaw supped from the cup as man-of-the-match Finn Russell looked on, alongside Scotland rugby legend Doddie Weir.
Footage later emerged on Twitter of the players in an Edinburgh nightclub singing Flower of Scotland led by Laidlaw, who rips his shirt off and is accompanied by Russell.
However, there was no repeat of the antics 30 years ago when Scotland and England players took the Calcutta Cup out with them in Edinburgh, ending up in Buster Brown’s nightclub – where a badly damaged trophy was given to a bouncer for safekeeping.
Pubs and clubs across the city were packed with Six Nations fans, who earlier in the day had watched Ireland defeat Wales.
Sophie Wilson, restaurant manager at The Three Sisters pub, said the atmosphere was “absolutely amazing” all day.
She added: “We were at full capacity during the first game, so we had a queue stretching up the road, lots of people were trying to get in and have drinks before the Scotland match.
“The place went crazy when Scotland won – pints were going everywhere and the courtyard was buzzing. Later on in the evening we had more and more people coming in to celebrate the victory.
“There was a good mix of fans – there were a lot more English supporters about earlier on in the day and then in the evening it was mostly Scottish fans. It was all done in good spirits and everyone was having a good time.”
Next up for the Scots is a daunting trip to Dublin in two weeks’ time to play Ireland, when they will be looking for a win to maintain their outside hopes of lifting the Natwest 6 Nations crown.
Aside from keeping Scotland’s hopes alive in this season’s tournament, the win against England will also provide peace of mind to several members of the squad who suffered humiliation at Twickenham last year.
An in-form side suffered a 61-21 thrashing last March and there were emotional celebrations on the pitch as the Scots gained revenge with their first win over England since 2008.
Police Scotland also got in on the act by trolling England rugby fans on Twitter.
They posted: “We are receiving calls reporting singing & cheering across Scotland but it seems particularly focused on the area of Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. We have alerted all on duty officers and will investigate these reports. Some beat officers will walk 500 miles to investigate.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Rugby Union said: “After being present at the postmatch function, the Calcutta Cup will go on display at BT Murrayfield Stadium and be available for fans to see on the BT Murrayfield tour.”