Around 16,500 fans were allowed into BT Murrayfield for the British and Irish Lions ' clash with Japan on Saturday.
The Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup match marks the largest crowd permitted at a Scottish sporting venue since March 2020 and the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions.
And it follows Hampden being opened to 12,000 supporters for Scotland's Euro 2020 group fixtures earlier this month.
Permission was granted in May for the 67,144 capacity arena in Edinburgh to open to a reduced number of socially-distanced attendees.
The sight of punters back in their Murrayfield seats will come as a welcome boost to sports clubs up and down the country who have been locked out of stadia for well over a year.
On Friday, the SRU's former chief operating officer and now new Celtic CEO Dominic McKay revealed he'd held positive discussions on the return of fans to games when domestic seasons kick off later this summer.
Speaking at the unveiling of new manager Ange Postecoglou, McKay said: “We want to get spectators back inside the stadium and I’ve just come off a call with the Scottish Government which gave me enormous confidence that we’re going to get some spectators in before too long.
"Our priority has to be to settle the team in, settle Ange in and then make sure we get people back into the building.
“That’s the focus for us and there are other things one can do to make sure the closeness between the club and supporters is a bit tighter but, ultimately, it comes down to having a successful team and having people back in the building and that’s a big focus for us.
“The announcement that came through from the First Minister about a week ago, in respect to social distancing being reduced on July 19 th and again on August 9th, gives us renewed confidence that we can get large volumes of supporters back in to back the team at Celtic Park and other stadiums across Scotland.
“We’re very active with the government and council to make sure we have robust plans.
"That’s what our supporters have been crying out for, the opportunity to come back in and support their team and I can’t wait for that to happen.”
