The 1875-76 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
matches played by Scotland's district teams.
It includes the Inter-City fixtures between
Glasgow District and
Edinburgh District; and the
East of Scotland District versus
West of Scotland District trial match.
History
The first Inter-City match of the season was played under the 20-a-side rules. Like many Inter-City matches before, this produced a nil-nil draw. It was noticed that this format drew fewer spectators. During the match
Glasgow District's Malcolm Cross
Malcolm Cross was a Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, borde ...
was seriously injured and had to be stretchered from the ground.
In 1876, it was realised that fewer players on the park might increase the chances of teams scoring. The second match of the Inter-City fixtures was thus played under the now standard 15-a-side rules. The smaller teams provided – as ''The Glasgow Herald'' reported – the best Inter-City match ever played; and the attendance, having dropped with the nil-nils previously with the 20-a-side format, was also boosted to 5,000 spectators. Despite the much better match, the score once again ended nil-nil.
Directly after the second inter-city match, the SRU met to discuss a fixture between East and West districts. This would be a chance for players outside the Glasgow and Edinburgh districts to play. The East and West fixture thus became the main trial match for the Scotland international team. The Scotland international team was due to play its English counterparts on 8 March 1876; hence the East v West district match was to be held on Saturday 26 February 1876.
The first
East of Scotland District v
West of Scotland District trial match ended in a draw; it was noted that both sides had to touch down the ball once behind their own goal-line to prevent the other side scoring.
Results
Inter-City
Glasgow District: J. S. Carrick (Glasgow Academicals), J. McGeoch (West of Scotland), M. Cross (Glasgow Academicals), R. C. McKenzie (Glasgow Academicals), J. K. Tod (Glasgow Academicals), D. M. Brunton (Glasgow University) aptain G. R. Fleming (Glasgow Academicals), S. Smith (Glasgow Academicals), A. T. Arthur (Glasgow Academicals), Allan Arthur (Glasgow Academicals), D. H. Watson (Glasgow Academicals), W. S. Brown (Glasgow Academicals), J. E. Junor (Glasgow Academicals), H. McEwen (Glasgow Academicals), T. Morrison (Glasgow University), W. Law (Glasgow University), T. F. Donald (West of Scotland), R. Hunter (West of Scotland), W. B. Russell (West of Scotland), J. Cochrane (West of Scotland)
Edinburgh District: R. Johnstone (Edinburgh Academicals), J. Smith (Edinburgh University), N. J. Finlay (Edinburgh Academicals), George Paterson (Edinburgh Academicals), G. A. Scott (Royal HSFP), J. Rutherford (Edinburgh Wanderers), James Robertson (Royal HSFP), Bulldog Irvine
Doctor Robert William Irvine, (1853–1897) nicknamed "Bulldog", was a Scotland international rugby football player.Bath, p137
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
He played for Edinburgh Academicals.
Provincial career
He represented Edinburg ...
(Edinburgh Academicals), Arthur Marshall (Edinburgh Academicals), G. Finlay (Edinburgh Academicals), J. G. Coupar (Edinburgh Academicals), Gussie Graham
Gussie Graham (16 April 1856 – 17 October 1922) was a Scotland international rugby union player.
Rugby union career Amateur career
Graham played with Edinburgh Academicals.
Provincial career
He was capped by Edinburgh District in 1874.
He ...
(Edinburgh Academicals), J. Reid (Edinburgh Wanderers), C. Villar (Edinburgh Wanderers), A. G. Petrie (Royal HSFP), R. B. Murrie (Royal HSFP), J. G. Smith (Edinburgh University), Charles Walker Cathcart
Charles Walker Cathcart, CBE, MB CM, FRCSEd, FRCSE (16 March 1853 – 22 February 1932) was a Scottish surgeon who worked for most of his career at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE). As a young man he had represented Scotland at rugby on t ...
(Edinburgh University), G. Atkinson (Edinburgh University), N. T. Brewis (Institution)
Edinburgh District: John Smith (Edinburgh University), Ninian Finlay
Ninian Jamieson Finlay (31 January 1858 – 7 March 1936Godwin, p147) was a Scottish international rugby player.Bath, p136 He was capped nine times for between 1875–81, and is generally considered to be the youngest player ever to be capped ...
(Edinburgh Academicals), G. A. Scott (Royal HSFP), George Paterson (Edinburgh Academicals), James Robertson (Royal HSFP), Bulldog Irvine
Doctor Robert William Irvine, (1853–1897) nicknamed "Bulldog", was a Scotland international rugby football player.Bath, p137
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
He played for Edinburgh Academicals.
Provincial career
He represented Edinburg ...
(Edinburgh Academicals) aptain Arthur Finlay (Edinburgh Academicals), G. Finlay (Edinburgh Academicals), Gussie Graham
Gussie Graham (16 April 1856 – 17 October 1922) was a Scotland international rugby union player.
Rugby union career Amateur career
Graham played with Edinburgh Academicals.
Provincial career
He was capped by Edinburgh District in 1874.
He ...
(Edinburgh Academicals), James Andrew Whitelock Mein (Edinburgh Academicals), R. B. Murrie (Royal HSFP), Charles Walker Cathcart
Charles Walker Cathcart, CBE, MB CM, FRCSEd, FRCSE (16 March 1853 – 22 February 1932) was a Scottish surgeon who worked for most of his career at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE). As a young man he had represented Scotland at rugby on t ...
(Edinburgh University), James Reid (Edinburgh Wanderers), Charles Villar (Edinburgh Wanderers), Nat Brewis
Dr Nathaniel Thomas Brewis (16 April 1856 – 21 October 1924) was a Scottish Doctor and international rugby union player . He became the 13th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.
Medical Career
Nathaniel Brewis graduated from the Universit ...
( Edinburgh Institution F.P.)
Glasgow District: G. R. Fleming (Glasgow Academicals), Allan Arthur (Glasgow Academicals), J. E. Junor (Glasgow Academicals), S. Smith (Glasgow Academicals), D. M. Watson (Glasgow Academicals), H. Napier (West of Scotland), J. Cochrane (West of Scotland), T. F. Donald (West of Scotland), W. B. Russell (West of Scotland), T. Morrison (Glasgow University), J. K. Tod (Glasgow Academicals), J. J. Veral (West of Scotland), D. M. Brunton (Glasgow University) aptain M. Cross (Glasgow Academicals), J. S. Carrick (Glasgow Academicals)
Other Scottish matches
East of Scotland District: Backs: J. Smith (Edinburgh University), J. Leslie (Dundee);
Half-backs: Ninian Finlay
Ninian Jamieson Finlay (31 January 1858 – 7 March 1936Godwin, p147) was a Scottish international rugby player.Bath, p136 He was capped nine times for between 1875–81, and is generally considered to be the youngest player ever to be capped ...
(Edinburgh Academicals), J. A. Scott (Royal HSFP),
Quarter-backs: George Paterson (Edinburgh Academicals), R. Johnstone (Royal HSFP),
Forwards: Bulldog Irvine
Doctor Robert William Irvine, (1853–1897) nicknamed "Bulldog", was a Scotland international rugby football player.Bath, p137
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
He played for Edinburgh Academicals.
Provincial career
He represented Edinburg ...
(captain) (Edinburgh Academicals), G. Finlay (Edinburgh Academicals) Gussie Graham
Gussie Graham (16 April 1856 – 17 October 1922) was a Scotland international rugby union player.
Rugby union career Amateur career
Graham played with Edinburgh Academicals.
Provincial career
He was capped by Edinburgh District in 1874.
He ...
(Edinburgh Academicals),
D. R. Irvine (Edinburgh Academicals), Thomas Torrie (Edinburgh Academicals), Alexander Petrie (Royal HSFP), R. B. Murrie (Royal HSFP),
J. Reid (Edinburgh Wanderers), C. Hawkins (Edinburgh Wanderers), G. Atkinson (Edinburgh University), Charles Walker Cathcart
Charles Walker Cathcart, CBE, MB CM, FRCSEd, FRCSE (16 March 1853 – 22 February 1932) was a Scottish surgeon who worked for most of his career at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE). As a young man he had represented Scotland at rugby on t ...
(Edinburgh University),
L. A. Auldjo (Abertay), D. Barron (St Andrews University), H. Hill (Dundee)
West of Scotland District: James Stewart Carrick
James Stewart Carrick (4 September 1855 – 2 January 1923) was a Scottish rugby union and cricket player. He died in Seattle, Washington in 1923.
Carrick was a genuine all-round sportsman, playing international rugby as a full-back for , and a ...
(Glasgow Academicals), Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
(Glasgow Academicals), R.C. McKenzie (West of Scotland), Hutchinson (Glasgow University), D. M. Brunton (Glasgow University), John Kennedy Tod
John Kennedy Tod (11 September 1852 – 2 June 1925) was a Scottish-American merchant banker. In his youth he was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1873–74 Home Nations rugby union matches and 1874–75 Hom ...
(Glasgow Academicals), George Raphael Fleming
George Raphael Fleming (5 August 1850 – 13 December 1909) was a Scottish rugby union international player. He was born in Cathcart, Renfrewshire (now a suburb of Glasgow).
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Fleming played as a forward f ...
(Glasgow Academicals) aptain Allan Arthur (Glasgow Academicals), A. T. Arthur (Glasgow Academicals), John Junor
Sir John Donald Brown Junor (15 January 1919 – 3 May 1997) was a Scottish journalist and editor-in-chief of the '' Sunday Express'' between 1954 and 1986, having previously worked as a columnist there. He then moved to ''The Mail on Sunday''.
...
(Glasgow Academicals), David Watson (Glasgow Academicals), J. S. Tod (Glasgow Academicals), McIntyre (West of Scotland), T. F. Donald (West of Scotland), Henry Melville Napier
Henry Melvill Napier (2 May 1854 – 18 December 1940) was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1876–77 Home Nations rugby union matches, 1877–78 Home Nations rugby union matches, 1878–79 Home Nations ru ...
(West of Scotland), W. B. Russell (West of Scotland), Andrews (Paisley), Kennedy (Paisley), Lang (Paisley)
English matches
No other District matches played.
International matches
No touring matches this season.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1875-76 Scottish Districts season
1875–76 in Scottish rugby union
Scottish Districts seasons