Scotland particularly in relation to taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission. The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe. The total area is , comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea
England–Scotland Amateur Match not fully representative. It was therefore decided to hold the England–Scotland match at a different time and on a different venue, being played at Royal Liverpool in August. In addition it was decided to play a match between England and Ireland on the day before. Ireland and Scotland had already decided to hold their match in Ireland in September. It was later arranged that a Welsh team should attend, playing matches against Scotland and Ireland on the days when England were playing Ireland and Scotland. England beat Ireland 10–4 while Wales lost 2–12 to Scotland and 2–11 to Ireland. England