Scottish Rugby’s Chief Executive Gordon McKie has pledged to invest more money into grass-roots rugby after revealing events at Murrayfield were worth £129.9million to the Scottish economy last season.

Most of the balance was generated from the Bank of Scotland Corporate Autumn Tests and the RBS 6 Nations Championship matches, and £72.9 million of this was spent in the Edinburgh area alone.

A further £36 million was contributed by the Heineken Cup, the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s Festival and the engage Super League Magic Weekend, all held at the home of Scottish rugby.

McKie believes events at Murrayfield are helping local businesses and communities survive the recession and he insists more will be done by Scottish Rugby to promote rugby at grass-roots level.

“Murrayfield Stadium is so much more than the spiritual home of the national team,” said McKie. “It’s a massive generator of significant revenue to Edinburgh and the surrounding communities and the experiences visitors enjoy here encourage them to return to Scotland.

“We are hugely proud of the contribution that Scottish Rugby and the stadium – which is Scotland’s biggest – make to businesses and communities across Scotland and the wider economy.

“Our aim is to bring more world-class events to the stadium and thus enable the benefits to be shared in the wider community and Scotland.

“Any income we generate from events at Murrayfield enables us to reinvest even more to support and grow rugby at all levels throughout the country.”