Donald Scott (rugby union)

Last updated

Donald Scott
Birth nameDonald Macdonald Scott
Date of birth(1928-04-15)15 April 1928
Place of birth Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Date of death22 June 2024(2024-06-22) (aged 96)
Place of death Edinburgh, Scotland
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre, wing
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Langholm ()
– Watsonians ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
South ()
- Edinburgh District ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1950–53 Scotland 10 (0)

Donald Macdonald Scott (15 April 1928 – 22 June 2024) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Normally a centre, he also played on the wing.

Contents

Rugby career

Amateur career

Scott played for – and was internationally capped whilst at – Langholm and Watsonians. [1]

Provincial career

He broke through while playing with Langholm to play for the South. He was part of the South team that beat North 10 points to 9 on 11 November 1950. [2]

Whilst with Watsonians he played for Edinburgh District. He played in the 1952–53 season's Inter-City match but lost to Glasgow District. [3]

He played in the Scottish Inter-District Championship in its first season. In that 1953–54 season, Edinburgh District won the first championship. [4]

International career

He was capped for Scotland 11 times from 1950 to 1953, playing in nine Five Nations matches. He was capped at Centre and Wing. [5]

He never scored an international try, though during the Five Nations match against England in 1950, both he and teammate Donald Sloan pounced on a high kick over the try line. As both got up, Scott patted Sloan on the back and the try was awarded to Sloan. [6] [7]

Scott also played in Scotland's 44–0 defeat to South Africa in 1951. He remembered: "When I played in any match there were three things I thought the man opposite me might do:- they would run at me and try to beat me; they would run at me and pass the ball; or they would kick the ball. Well, the South Africans did all that, but they also did something I had never seen before: they ran into you. They looked at you and said: come and take me. You watch rugby now and it is all about contact, and laying the ball off in different ways. That was the first time I saw that approach." [8]

Outside of rugby

Scott was a teacher at George Watson's College. He coached the school's 1st XV at rugby union. [9] Scott died at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on 22 June 2024, at the age of 96. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Hastings (rugby union)</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Scott Hastings is a Scottish sports commentator and former Scotland international rugby union player. At the point of his retirement he was Scotland's most-capped player ever, but this record has now been beaten. He played for Edinburgh District and when that provincial side turned professional he played for Edinburgh Rugby. At amateur level he played for Watsonians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watsonian FC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Edinburgh

Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, welcoming players of all abilities regardless of whether they attended the school or not. It is one of a small number of rugby union clubs entitled to call itself a 'football club', rather than a 'rugby football club'. Watsonians run a number of sides; the top male side plays in the FOSROC Super Series tournament, the Women's side plays in the Tennents Scottish Women's Premiership Scottish Rugby's Women's League

Gary Callander was a Scottish international rugby union player who made six international appearances for the Scotland national team between 1984 and 1988. He played in the Hooker position. He coached Haddington, Gala, Watsonians and Kelso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Moritz Speirs</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Louis Moritz Speirs was a Scottish rugby union international who played ten times for his country and was part of the first official British & Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1910.

Alexander William Angus was a Scottish international rugby union and cricket player.

William Patrick Scott was a Scotland international rugby union player, who played as a Forward.

Andrew Garry is a former Scottish rugby union player. He played for the amateur Glasgow District side and after professionalism played for Glasgow Rugby, now named the Glasgow Warriors. He played at Fly-half but also played at Centre and Full Back. He is currently a Physical Education teacher at Dunfermline High School, having worked there since 1993 following a one year post as a PE teacher at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh.

The 1953–54 Scottish Inter-District Championship was a rugby union competition for Scotland's district teams.

Stewart's College FP RFC was a Scottish rugby union club in Edinburgh.

Langholm Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Langholm RFC, in Langholm, Scotland. The Langholm Sevens was the last of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1908.

The 1893–94 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.

The 1898–99 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.

The 1906–07 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.

The 1938–39 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.

John Simson was a Scotland international rugby union player. He played at the Wing position.

Robert Finlay was a Scotland international rugby union player.

Euan Kennedy is a former Scotland international rugby union player.

John Tod was a Scotland international rugby union player. He was nicknamed 'The Prince of Dribblers' and it is said that he introduced the dribbling game to rugby union. Tod, himself, rated the later Watsonian player and Scotland international William Cownie as a much better dribbler of the rugby ball than he was, saying that Cownie was the prettiest dribbler he had ever seen touch a rugby ball.

Jimmy Carmichael was a Scotland international rugby union player.

Tom McGlashan was a Scotland international rugby union player.

References

  1. ↑ The Essential History of Rugby Union: Scotland. Nick Oswald and John Griffiths.
  2. ↑ "The Glasgow Herald – Google News Archive Search".
  3. ↑ "The Glasgow Herald – Google News Archive Search".
  4. ↑ "The Glasgow Herald – Google News Archive Search".
  5. ↑ "Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Statsguru – Player analysis – Donald Scott – Test matches".
  6. ↑ "'Rock steady gentleman' of the rugby pitch passes away".
  7. ↑ "Scotland v England".
  8. ↑ "Scotland v South Africa: History offers red-blooded taste of battle".
  9. ↑ "Gavin Hastings: 'You learn more from defeat than victory'". Archived from the original on 15 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Obituary: Donald Scott". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Donald Scott". Legacy. Retrieved 10 July 2024.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.