Angus William "Gus" Black (6 May 1925 – 14 February 2018) was a Scottish international
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 ...
player, who played for and the
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
.
[Bath, Richard (ed.) (2007) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany''. Vision Sports Publishing Ltd. . p. 118]
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Black played for
Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
.
He went on to play for
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
and
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
during his
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
.
He played for the
Royal Air Force Rugby Union in 1954.
Provincial career
Black was capped for
Edinburgh District.
He played for the
Cities District side in their match against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in October 1947.
He turned out for the
Scotland Possibles side in 1947.
International career
Black made his first international appearance on New Year's Day 1947 while studying
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
.
He also played for
Edinburgh University rugby team,
[ and was on the 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia where he played in two tests, playing in a 9–9 draw in ]Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
and a 0–8 loss in Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
.[
]
Death
Black lived in Lundin Links
Lundin Links is a small village in the parish of Largo on the south coast of Fife in eastern central Scotland.
The village was largely built in the 19th century to accommodate tourists visiting the village of Lower Largo. Lundin Links is conti ...
in Fife. After moving into a care home in the 1990s, Black died in February 2018 and at the time of his death was the oldest living Lions player.
References
1925 births
2018 deaths
Scottish rugby union players
Scotland international rugby union players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland
Edinburgh University RFC players
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Leicester Tigers players
Scotland Possibles players
Edinburgh District (rugby union) players
Cities District players
Royal Air Force rugby union players
20th-century Royal Air Force personnel
Rugby union scrum-halves
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