The first incidence of rugby league in Scotland was in 1909, when the RFL (then named the Northern Rugby Union) arranged a test match at Celtic Park, Glasgow, between England and the touring Australia, in an attempt to launch rugby league in Scotland. The game ended in a 17 all draw, and a further test involving the same nations was played at Tynecastle, Edinburgh, in 1911, this time the result being a 11 all draw.

Despite this effort rugby league failed to make a significant impact in Scotland due to the popularity of football and rugby union, and at this point the RFL abandoned any further plans for expansion into Scotland. Nonetheless, many Scottish players moved over the border to play for English rugby league clubs, with most of the players moving from the borders. At this point, a Scottish national team was never raised, but many Scots played for the Other Nationalities sides selected to play England, and also some for Great Britain. A Scotsman, Dave Valentine, actually captained Great Britain to World Cup victory in 1954.

The first instance of a rugby league club in Scotland was when a student team was started at Aberdeen University in 1989, and from there other clubs formed. Due to this rise in profile a Scottish national team first took the field in 1995, and by 1997 a domestic competition was formed for the newly formed clubs.

The newly formed national team played in the Emerging Nations cup in 1995, and the full World Cup in 2000. It also competed in the 2003 & 2005 Euro Nations Cup, and has qualified for the 2008 World Cup in Australia. Most of the squad is made up of second genration Scots, pro players born and bread in England, but Scoland also puts out an amateur side, Scotland A, drawn from the Scottish Conference. Since 2002 Scotland A has competed yearly in the Amateur Four Nations (now Home Nations Cup).