1998 Ireland rugby union tour of South Africa Trevor Brennan also made their senior international debuts in the same game. A fourth debutant, Justin Bishop, scored a try while Eric Elwood added a conversion and two penalties. 1998 Ireland rugby union tour of South Africa 1998 Ireland rugby union tour of South Africa. The Ireland national rugby union team embarked on their third tour of South Africa, having previously visited in 1961 and 1981. Both Paul Wallace and Keith Wood had previously been on a tour to South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1997. Cape Town-born Dion O'Cuinneagain, had captained South Africa at both schoolboy
History of rugby union in Scotland launched and the trophy is known as the "Melrose Cup" in memory of Ned Haig's invention. In 1895, there was a schism within the game of rugby in neighbouring England which saw the sport divided into rugby union which remained amateur and rugby league which permitted payments to players. However, no such split took place in Scotland where the clubs continued to play rugby union. Fourteen Scottish players would cross over and play rugby league in England before amateurism was abandoned. While rugby league is not as popular as rugby union in Scotland, it has maintained a continuous presence for