1872 Cup

The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.

Under the current format, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby play home-and-away league matches against one another within the United Rugby Championship in which both sides compete. The results in these matches is used to decide the Cup winners. The aggregate score in the home and away ties decides the 1872 Champions each year and bonus points won within the URC league structure are disregarded.

Not only is the Glasgow – Edinburgh fixture the oldest inter-district rugby match in the world, but the derby is classed as one of the biggest in world rugby. Former Edinburgh coach, the South African Alan Solomons states: "These games are massive. For me, this is one of the big derbies of world rugby." Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith said: "It's a very special derby that is world renowned." The matches, often held over the Christmas and New Year holiday season, attract bumper attendances in larger stadia than the teams use habitually.

Not all Glasgow Warriors versus Edinburgh Rugby fixtures are deemed 1872 Cup matches. Should the sides play more matches against one another in a season than the nominated 1872 Cup matches, these other derby matches have no bearing on the 1872 Cup. For example, the Pro14 match of 28 August 2020 in the 2019-20 season between the clubs was the pair's fourth fixture together that season. The 1872 Cup was already decided in the derby fixture the week before, and the 28 August 2020 match was a normal Pro14 league match. Similarly the Glasgow Warriors versus Edinburgh Rugby fixture of 15 May 2021 was a normal Pro14 Rainbow Cup match, the 1872 Cup for that season decided in the Rainbow Cup match in the previous week.