Birth name | Bert Duffy | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | c. 1940 (age 82–83) | ||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
117th President of the Scottish Rugby Union | |||||||||||||||||
In office 2003–2004 | |||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Alan Hosie | ||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Gordon Dixon | ||||||||||||||||
Bert Duffy is a Scottish former rugby union player. He was the 117th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. [1]
He started out playing for Walkerburn. [2]
Duffy then played for Selkirk. He became the second player to captain the side for three consecutive seasons;from 1963 to 1966. The first Selkirk player to achieve this feat was George Downie (1951–54). [3]
He had to give up playing rugby union after a bad car accident in 1970. [4]
In 1978,as Secretary of Selkirk he tried to get Northern Ireland rugby union sides to play friendlies against Selkirk prior to the Scotland versus Ireland match at Murrayfield Stadium.
He was a selector for the South of Scotland District. [5]
He became a Vice-President of Selkirk rugby club in 1989. [5]
Duffy then became a President of Selkirk. [6]
In 1996,he was elected the South of Scotland District representative on the SRU board. [7]
Just before his SRU presidency he became involved in trying to save Walkerburn who were struggling at the time. He stated:"Rugby has always been my life. I couldn't play after I was in a bad car accident 35 years ago but I have always been involved with clubs. It gives me something to live for. I believe that many sports clubs are the heart of small communities and without them the world would be a sadder place." [4]
Duffy became the 117th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served one year in office from 2003 to 2004. [1]
When Edinburgh Rugby reached the final of the inaugural Celtic Cup in 2003,Duffy asked clubs to postpone their weekend fixtures to support the Edinburgh side. He stated:"Because of the magnitude of this event,I would like to encourage all clubs in Scotland not to play any fixtures in conflict to the Celtic Cup Final so that everyone in Scotland can support Edinburgh Rugby in the final of a major competition." [8]
Duffy had to state that the speculation that the Scottish Rugby Union would sell off Murrayfield Stadium to pay off their debt was unfounded. [9]
It was under Duffy's presidency that work began to merge the Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Women's Rugby Union although the bodies didn't officially merge until 2009. He stated:"When I first took over as president of the SRU,I said that I definitely wanted everyone involved in rugby in Scotland to work together to support Scottish rugby. This proposed integration is a prime example of how we can all work together for the good of the game." [10]
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby,it is the second oldest Rugby Union,having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league system,known as the Scottish League Championship,and the Scottish National teams. The SRU is headed by the President and Chairman,with Mark Dodson acting as the Chief Executive Officer. Dee Bradbury became the first female president of a Tier 1 rugby nation upon her appointment on 4 August 2018.
Border Reivers,originally known as "Scottish Borders Rugby",and also known as The Borders,were one of four professional rugby union teams in Scotland,alongside Edinburgh,Caledonia Reds and Glasgow Warriors.
Edinburgh Rugby is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship,along with the Glasgow Warriors,its oldest rival. Edinburgh plays the majority of its home games at Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became the first Scottish team to win a major trophy in rugby union's professional era. The side is known for its fast,dynamic and attacking style of play,using offloads and quick rucks. Defensively the club prides itself on its 'Fortress Scotstoun' where the club play at home.
Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh,Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest stadium in Scotland and the fifth largest in the United Kingdom.
Iain Angus McLeod Paxton is a Scottish former rugby union player. He won 36 caps for Scotland at number eight and lock between 1981 and 1988,scoring a total of five tries. He also won four caps for the British Lions against New Zealand in 1983.
The South of Scotland District is a Scottish amateur rugby union team which plays in the amateur Scottish Inter-District Championship. It draws its players from the South of Scotland,mainly the Scottish Borders where there has always been a proud tradition of rugby union. Historically the South team played matches against touring teams visiting Scotland from abroad,and also competed in the Scottish Inter-District Championship. After rugby union became a professional sport in 1995,the team was replaced in 1996 by the new Border Reivers team based in the same geographical area as the South and who wore the same colours as the old team.
The Border League,currently known as the Booker Border League,after its sponsors,includes rugby union teams from all over the Scottish Borders as well as Berwick RFC from Northumberland compete every year from the competition.
Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union side based in Edinburgh,Scotland which currently plays its fixtures in the Edinburgh Regional Shield competition and the British Universities Premiership. It is one of the eight founder members of the Scottish Rugby Union. In the years prior to the SRU's introduction of club leagues in 1973 and the advent of professionalism in the 1990s,EURFC was a major club power and it won the 'unofficial' Scottish Club championship several times. It remains a club with an all-student committee,and is only open to students of the University of Edinburgh. The club runs a men's team and a women's team;both playing in the university leagues.
Rugby union in Scotland is a popular team sport. Scotland's national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup. The first ever international rugby match was played on 27 March 1871,at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh,when Scotland defeated England in front of 4,000 people. Professional clubs compete in the United Rugby Championship,European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup,while the Scottish League Championship exists for over 200 amateur and semi-professional clubs,as does a knock-out competition,the Scottish Cup. The governing body,the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU),is one of the ten first-tier member nations of World Rugby.
Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club,founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union,playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfield Wanderers.
Lasswade Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Bonnyrigg,Midlothian,Scotland. Established in 1921,the club plays at Hawthornden in Lasswade parish and competes in Scottish National League Division Two.
Caledonia Reds are a Scottish rugby union professional district team who participate in the Scottish Inter-District Championship and have participated in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. They evolved from one of the traditional four amateur districts of Scotland,North and Midlands,in 1996.
Rugby union in Scotland in its modern form has existed since the mid-19th century. As with the history of rugby union itself however,it emerged from older traditional forms of football which preceded the codification of the sport. In the same manner as rugby union in England,rugby union in Scotland would grow at a significant rate to the point where Scotland played England in the first ever rugby union international in 1871,a match which was won by the Scottish team.
Trinity Academicals RFC,nicknamed "Trinity" or "Trinity Accies" is a rugby union club based in Leith,Edinburgh,Scotland,originally for the former pupils of Trinity Academy,Edinburgh. Trinity Accies competes in the East Division 2.
The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three seasons,being disbanded after the Celtic League was set up.
Professor Donald Macleod FRCSEd,FFAEM (Hon),FFSEM (Hon),FISM was a Scottish former rugby union player and a former President of the Scottish Rugby Union. A retired surgeon,he was the Scotland national rugby union team doctor for many years.
Stevie Scott is a rugby union coach and former player who gained 11 caps with Scotland from 2000 to 2004. He played as hooker at Edinburgh and Border Reivers. He coached at Selkirk and Sale Sharks. He was assistant coach at Scotland and forward coach at Edinburgh Rugby.
Fred McLeod was a Scottish rugby union player. He became the 110th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.
Gordon Dixon is a Scottish former rugby union player. He was the 118th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help)