Birth name | Francis Edward Cotton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 3 January 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Wigan, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 105 kg (16 st 7 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Newton-le-Willows Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Loughborough University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | businessman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Francis Edward Cotton (born 3 January 1947) is a former rugby union prop forward who played for England and the British Lions. His clubs included Coventry R.F.C. and Sale. After retiring, he remained in rugby administration and founded a clothing company. In 2007, Cotton returned to his former club Sale as a member of the club's board. [3]
Cotton was born in Wigan, Lancashire, and went to Loughborough University to study physical education. Cotton was ahead of his time in terms of physical preparation. It was during these years that Cotton would win the Glengarth Sevens at [Davenport R.U.F.C. ] now renamed Stockport Rugby Club along with Steve Smith and Clive Rees. Cotton made his England debut against Scotland in 1971, and played for them 31 times. He also captained the English team three times.
He represented the Lions on their tours to South Africa in 1974, New Zealand in 1977 and South Africa in 1980. It was during the game against the Junior All Blacks on the 1977 tour that the famous 'Mudman' image of Cotton, waiting for the ball at a lineout while caked head-to-toe in mud, was taken. Captured by Colorsport's Colin Elsey, it became one of the most iconic images of rugby union.
Cotton was the Tour Manager for the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa. [4]
With Steve Smith he founded the clothing company Cotton Traders in 1987. In 2008 Cotton Traders was forced to pull out of Burma after an investigation by the Burma Campaign UK uncovered the company was sourcing clothing from Burma. Clothing exports generate significant income for the Burmese dictatorship. [5]
He is an honorary president of the rugby charity Wooden Spoon improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland.
Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk.
Martin Osborne Johnson CBE is an English retired rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester in a career spanning 16 seasons. He captained England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and is regarded as one of the greatest locks ever to have played, and one of England's greatest ever players.
Jason Leonard is an English former rugby union player. He won a then-record 114 caps for England men’s rugby team during a 14-year international career.
In 1980 the British Lions rugby union team toured South Africa. The tour was not a success for the Lions, as they lost the first three tests before salvaging some pride with a win in the fourth. The team did however win all their 14 non-international matches. The Lions were captained by Bill Beaumont.
In 1974, the British & Irish Lions toured South Africa, with matches in South West Africa and Rhodesia. Under the leadership of Willie John McBride, the Lions went through the tour undefeated, winning 21 of their 22 matches and being held to a draw in the final match, albeit in controversial circumstances. The 1974 squad became known as 'The Invincibles' and regarded as the greatest rugby tour in history.
Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. The home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell and the first team play in English rugby's National League 2 North, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from National League 1 at the end of the 2017–18 season. There are another two senior teams, the Hawks and the Vandals who play in the English North West Leagues; respectively in the NW Premiership and NW3 North. There is also a Colts team. In previous seasons the Colts have played in the Lancashire & Cheshire regional leagues.
Cotton Traders is a British clothing company, specialising in leisurewear, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1987 by former England national rugby union team captains Fran Cotton and Steve Smith.
Thomas Patrick David is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was born in Pontypridd, and played representative rugby union (RU) for Wales and the British Lions and rugby league (RL) for Wales. He was selected for the 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa, and at the time played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. He also played for his home-town club Pontypridd RFC, and while at the club was part of the 1976 Grand Slam winning Wales team. In 1981 he switched codes to rugby league, representing Cardiff City Blue Dragons.
In 1977 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. The Lions played 26 matches, including four internationals against the All Blacks. They lost the series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. The team played as the British Isles in their internationals against the All Blacks and the British Lions for the non-international games. Unlike all previous tours to New Zealand, the Lions did not play any matches in Australia, though one game was also played at Buckhurst Park, Suva, against Fiji.
John Southern Spencer is a former England international rugby union player.
Stephen James Smith is a former England international rugby union footballer and was educated at The King's School, Macclesfield. In 1980 he played in all four matches in England's Grand Slam victory and was called up as a replacement to the 1980 British Lions tour to South Africa but did not play a game; he sat on the bench for the final international. He became a fully-fledged Lion on the 1983 British Lions tour to New Zealand when joining the tour as a replacement for the injured Nigel Melville. He played club rugby for Sale and was on the winning team at the Glengarth Sevens whilst playing for Loughborough University.
In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against South Africa, each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins. As well as South Africa, the tour included a match against South West Africa, two games against Rhodesia and one versus East Africa.
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, it is one of the oldest existing football clubs. It adopted the nickname Sharks in 1999.
Established in 1950, the East Africa rugby union team is a multi-national rugby union team drawing players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, though the vast majority of these came from Kenya which has traditionally been the strongest rugby playing nation in the region. The team has played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides and it conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982.
The Five Nations XV v Overseas Unions XV was a rugby union match played on Saturday, 19 April 1986 to commemorate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board. The Five Nations XV featured players from England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales who had played in the 1986 Five Nations Championship. The Overseas Unions XV was effectively a World XV and featured players from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Overseas Unions XV won the match 32–15. Controversially, the squad included a number of white South Africans at a time when the relationship of rugby union and apartheid was being questioned at high levels.
Richard Eric Gautrey Jeeps,, known as Dickie Jeeps, was an English rugby union player who played for Northampton having started his career with Cambridge Rugby Club. He represented and captained both the England national rugby union team and the British Lions in the 1950s and 1960s. He subsequently became a sports administrator and Chairman of the Sports Council. He was appointed CBE in 1977.
Stanley Wakefield Harris CBE was an early twentieth century all-round sportsman regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to have played for the British and Irish Lions. As a rugby union international, he represented England in 1920, and the British Lions in 1924. He also turned down a place in the Great Britain Olympic squad in 1920, became a South African boxing champion and represented England in polo, all in between serving in both the First and Second World Wars.
Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era.
Thomas Michael Curry is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and the England national team.
Marcus Sebastian Smith is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins. Born in the Philippines, he represents England at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds and residency having lived in the UK since the age of 13.