John Dods (rugby union)

John Dods

Birth name	John Henry Dods
Date of birth	(1875-09-30)30 September 1875
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	30 December 1915(1915-12-30) (aged 40)
Place of death	HMS Natal, Moray Firth, off Scotland
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) Edinburgh Academicals () – clubs3 = London Scottish () – Durham City () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1895–1897 Scotland 8 (0)

John Henry Dods (30 September 1875 – 30 December 1915) was a Scottish rugby union player. ^[1] He was capped eight times for Scotland between 1895 and 1897. ^[1] He also played for Edinburgh Academicals. ^[1] He was the brother of Francis Dods who was also capped for Scotland. ^[1]

Dods was killed along with his wife and three children, whilst on board HMS Natal, which suffered a series of explosions, killing hundreds of people.

Rugby career

Following the trials match on 28 December 1894, Dods was again selected for Scotland, to play against Wales on 25 January 1895. ^[2]

International appearances

Opposition	Score	Result	Date	Venue	Ref(s)
Wales	5–4	Won	26 January 1895	Edinburgh	[3]
Ireland	6–0	Won	2 March 1895	Raeburn Place, Edinburgh	[4]
England	3–6	Won	9 March 1895	Richmond	[5]
Wales	6–0	Lost	25 January 1896	Cardiff	[6]
Ireland	0–0	Draw	15 February 1896	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	[7]
England	11–0	Won	14 March 1896	Glasgow	[8]
Ireland	8–3	Won	20 February 1897	Powderhall, Edinburgh	[9]
England	12–3	Lost	13 March 1897	Manchester	[10]

Death

On 30 December 1915, Dods, his wife and three children were aboard HMS Natal, guests of the ship's captain Eric Back. The ship, a Warrior Class cruiser, part of the Second Cruiser Squadron, was lying at anchor in the Cromarty Firth, in the north of Scotland. A series of explosions on board caused the ship to capsize with the loss of hundreds of lives, including those of Dods and his family. ^{[11] [12]}

See also

• List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War

References

1. Bath 2007, p. 137.
2. "SCOTLAND V WALES". South Wales Daily Post . William Llewellyn Williams. 30 December 1895. hdl:10107/3354112.
3. "Scotland vs Wales - Summary - Six Nations 1895 - 26 Jan, 1895 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
4. "Match Centre | Ireland : Irish Rugby | Official Website". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
5. "England vs Scotland - Line-up - Six Nations 1895 - 9 Mar, 1895 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
6. "Wales vs Scotland - Line-up - Six Nations 1896 - 25 Jan, 1896 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
7. "Match Centre | Ireland : Irish Rugby | Official Website". Archived from the original on 2 December 2015.
8. "Scotland vs England - Line-up - Six Nations 1896 - 14 Mar, 1896 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
9. "Match Centre | Ireland : Irish Rugby | Official Website". Archived from the original on 2 December 2015.
10. "England vs Scotland - Line-up - Six Nations 1897 - 13 Mar, 1897 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
11. McCrery 2014, p. 169.
12. McEwen, Alistair (2014). "Scottish Rugby 2" (PDF). Scotland's War. University of Edinburgh.

Bibliography

• Bath, Richard, ed. (2007). The Scotland Rugby Miscellany . Vision Sports Publishing Ltd. ISBN   978-1-905326-24-2.
• McCrery, Nigel (2014). Into Touch: Rugby Internationals Killed in the Great War. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword. ISBN   978-1-4738-3321-0.

External links

• John Henry Dods at ESPNscrum
• Commonwealth War Graves database
• An entire team wiped out by the Great War (The Scotsman)