Recent history is on Edinburgh's side going into tomorrow's Heineken Cup Pool 1 Murrayfield showdown with Northampton Saints, the capital club having recorded back-to-back wins when the sides last clashed in the season 2000/01 competition.
Centre Alex Grove, part of the match-day 23 tomorrow, has been to take a look at a somewhat older formbook, visiting the National Archives of Scotland to see the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, a document dating back to 1328 that marks the end of the First War of Scottish Independence.
The treaty is in two halves, one of which is held at the National Archive facilities in central Edinburgh, and the other across the border in England. The Scottish-based portion bears the signature of Robert the Bruce and was this week aired publicly for the first time in many a long year by kind permission of National Archive staff.
Grove said: “It’s fascinating to see that the links between Edinburgh and Northampton go back a good bit further than just Saturday’s match.
“It’s quite a privilege to be able to study something with such an interesting back-story; it gives you an idea of how much history there is to discover in a city like Edinburgh.
“Hopefully, in our own small way, we can add another chapter this weekend.”
To find out more about the National Archives of Scotland, whose records span the 12th to the 21st centuries, visit www.nas.gov.uk
BE THERE WHEN BATTLELINES ARE REDRAWN THIS SATURDAY. FOR TICKETS, CLICK HERE, CALL 0131 346 5180 OR VISIT THE MURRAYFIELD TICKET CENTRE IN PERSON. ANYGAME VOUCHERS CAN BE BOOKED UNTIL 5PM ON FRIDAY. THE TICKET CENTRE WILL BE OPEN FROM 10AM ON SATURDAY FOR MATCH-DAY SALES AND COLLECTIONS.
