The Hearald recalls

pictured J W Arthur's 1871 cap in New Anniesland pavilion

Andy Robinson’s selection marks a high water mark for Glasgow representation


There were six current or former Glasgow players in the Scotland pack in 1971. England were beaten twice
Alasdair Reid

Published on 2 Feb 2010
Whatever else Andy Robinson may win during his time in charge of Scotland, he made a decent pitch for being made a Freeman of Glasgow yesterday when he named nine of the city’s representatives in his starting lineup to face France at Murrayfield on Sunday.

It might be pushing it to say that the home dressing room will echo to the sound of Glaswegian accents when the nine players are born in such diverse outposts as Torquay, Harare, Hong Kong, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, but the shift in Scottish rugby’s geographic emphasis is still not far short of seismic.

After all, Robinson’s predecessor Frank Hadden went into the 2009 RBS 6 Nations with 10 Edinburgh players against Wales, and just two drawn from Glasgow. There could scarcely be a better illustration of how the game’s power base has tilted westwards over the past year.

Is such a strong Glasgow representation unprecedented? Almost certainly, but in an era of just two professional sides in Scotland it may not be as remarkable as some of the achievements of the past. In 1971, a year that stands out in Scottish rugby’s collective consciousness as it featured two wins against England, there were six players in the Scotland pack who were either contemporary or past Glasgow players.

Of course, that statistic was rather overshadowed by the fact that there were also six players in the 1971 team from Gala. And Borders players did have a habit of swamping the Scotland team in the amateur era – their high water mark being the Grand Slam side of 1984, which featured 11 players from that handful of clubs in the Tweed valley.

As it happens, the very first Scotland team ever chosen was pretty strong on the Glasgow front as well, as seven of the players who lined up against England at Raeburn Place in 1871 – the first Test match to be played anywhere in the world – came from Glasgow clubs, albeit that has to be seen in the context of 20-man teams.

Down the years, London Scottish has probably come closest to taking ownership of the Scotland team. Six of the Richmond side’s players figured against England in 1899, by which time the game was a 15-a-side affair. However, the most celebrated club combination of all has to be the Oxford University three-quarter line, which also did service for Scotland in the 1925 Grand Slam season.

But is drawing the core of your team from just one club really such a good idea? Does familiarity breed success at Test level? Robinson acknowledged yesterday that known partnerships have a certain strength, but also admitted that the Glasgow contingent still have to raise their game and remember that they are playing in the international arena.

That was something that seemed to slip the minds of the 10 Cardiff players who did service for Wales in the 1948 championship. Wales finished bottom of the championship that year and there was outrage among supporters of other clubs.

Of course, the most startling recent example was also from Wales. Only two years ago, the staggering total of 13 Ospreys players took played in the championship opener against England. Two months later, the Welsh, still dominated by Ospreys players, clinched their Grand Slam with a 29-12 win against France.

That kind of success must seem a long way off for Robinson’s side at the moment. But it could still start with a short trip along the M8.

From Ed
For the high watermark record
England v Scotland 1871

A. G. Guillemard (West kent) - Back W. D. Brown (Glasgow Academicals) - Back
A. Lyon (Liverpool) - Back T. Chalmers (Glasgow Academicals) - Back
R. R. Osbourn e (Manchester) - Back B. Ross (St. Andrews University) - Back
W. Maclaren (Manchester) Three-quarter back J. W. Arthur (Glasgow Academicals) - Half-back
J. E. Bentley (Gipsies ) - Half-back F. Cross (Merchistonians/Glasgow Accies - Half-back
F. Tobin (Liverpool) - Half-back T. R. Marshall (Edinburgh Academicals)
J. F. Green (West kent) - Half-back F. I. Moncrieff (Edinburgh Academicals), Captain
F. Stokes (Blackheath), Captain A. Buchanan (Edinburgh University)
R. H. Birkett (Clapham Rovers) A. B. Colville (Merhistonians)
B. H Burns (Blackheath) A, Drew (Glasgow Academicals)
J. H. Clayton (Liverpool) W. Forsyth (Edinburgh University)
C. A. Crompton (Blackheath) F. Finlay (Edinburgh Academicals)
A. Davenport (Ravenscourt Park) R. Irvine (Edinburgh Academicals)
J. M. Dugdale (Ravenscourt Park) W. Lyall (Edinburgh Academicals)
A. S. Gibson (Manchester) H. Mein (Edinburgh Academicals)
A. St. G. Hamersley (Marlborough Nomads) J. W. McFarlane (Edinburgh University)
J. H. Luscombe (Gipsies) D. Munro (St. Andrews University)
C. W. Sherrard (Blackheath) T. Ritchie (Merhistonians)
D. P. Turner (Richmond) F. Robertson (West of Scotland)
H. J. C. Turner (Manchester) W. Thomson (St. Andrews University/Glasgow Accies)

This article was originally posted on 3-Feb-2010, 08:00 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 3-Feb-2010, 08:14.