Strathglass Shinty Club in the fixture considered to be the origin of the rules that apply today in modern shinty against Glenurquhart Shinty Club at Bught Park, Inverness on 12 February 1887. Glen Urquhart won the game, played with 22 players on each side 2–0. This fixture was to be repeated on 12 January 2007 in Inverness as the opening centrepiece of the Highland 2007 celebrations in Scotland. However, despite two attempts to play the fixture, one in 2007 (as an opener to the celebrations) and the next in 2008 (as a closer) both were cancelled due to inclement weather. The trophy from
English Shinty Team and played friendly matches when possible as noted below. Players are generally considered eligible to play for the ESA team if they are registered with one of the shinty clubs based in England and not playing with any other club at the time. Most of the players are permanently resident in England, but there have been cases of players who have a historical link with England (often by birth or long residency in the country) and are not registered with another club registering and joining the team for matches. The song "When you hear the lions' roar" is an ode