It draws its players from the South of Scotland, mainly the Scottish Borders where there has always been a proud tradition of rugby union.
However, when the amateur district championship was again revived in the 2022-23 season, the team reverted to its old South of Scotland name.
Happily for them, the Borders were producing fine sides - and rugby union was spreading northwards into Aberdeenshire.
Nat Brewis , as honorary secretary of the SRU approved the North-South match in 1880 and sides were named, but owing to the weather the fixture was not played.
Attendances at 'South' games often numbered well into the thousands (and a crowd of 10,000 attended the Rest of Scottish Districts versus All Blacks (New Zealand) match in 1972 at Hawick) and before the onset of professionalism, The South would often play touring national sides, such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa before they played the national side[6] The Scottish Inter-District Championship began in season 1953–54.
The district championship was played in the autumn and provided a level of representative rugby above club competition but below the full Scottish national team.
The best performing players were then picked for a large Scotland squad which would form around New Year, ready for the 5 Nations Championship.
In an attempt to stay in touch with the leading nations the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) formed four professional teams, that would compete in the Heineken Cup and later a new Celtic League.
Renewed hope for a professional rugby team in the Borders came when Sir Moir Lockhead, the Chairman of the SRU, declared in May 2012 that "the Irish model is what we are trying to replicate now".
[10] The Irish model has four Provinces, much like the four Districts of Scotland in the early professional years, implying a return for the South/Borders and North/Caledonia.
To have the Inter-district back gives the top players in the Premiership and National leagues an opportunity to showcase their ability and push for Scotland Club XV selection in the future.