Arthur Fairgrieve Dorward (3 March 1925 – 4 August 2015) 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 it ...

player who played fifteen matches between 1950 – 1957.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Dorward was born in 1925 in

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

. He was educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose, and

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...

in Cumbria, where he was head boy. Dorward proceeded to St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in French and German. He played rugby for

Cambridge University R.U.F.C. The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated "CURUFC", is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays Oxford University RFC in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December. ...

for three seasons, winning three blues and captaining the team in his final year. He was also a member of the

1948 Oxford-Cambridge rugby union tour of Argentina The 1948 Oxford-Cambridge rugby union tour of Argentina was a series of matches played in Argentina by a mixed selection of players from Oxford University RFC, Oxford and Cambridge University R.U.F.C., Cambridge universities in 1948.

. Following his graduation he returned to Galashiels, to work for the family textile business, and play for

Gala RFC Gala Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. Founded in 1875, it plays its home games at Netherdale. The team currently competes in Scottish National League Division One, the second tier of Scottish ...

, for whom he had already made his debut aged 17. All his club rugby was played with Gala, with whom he played for fifteen years, before retiring at the age of 32. He captained Gala for three seasons between 1954 and 1957. Leading the team to the 'unofficial' Scottish championship in 1957. He also won several Borders Sevens winners' medals at Gala, Hawick and Jed-Forest.

Provincial career

Dorward also represented the South of Scotland in the

Scottish Inter-District Championship The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...

. He played for the South against , and South Africa in tour matches. He was selected for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

several times and was a member of the 1957 Barbarians tour of Canada.

International career

Dorward made his debut for against in the 1950 Five Nations Championship. Scotland won the match 8–5 at Murrayfield. His next match was against at Murrayfield on their 1951–52 South Africa rugby union tour. Scotland lost 44–0; one of seventeen consecutive defeats between 1951 and 1955. In the 1952 Five Nations Championship he played against , and . He became the first Gala player to captain Scotland for the match against England. England won the match 19–3 at Murrayfield. Dorward captained Scotland twice during the 1953 Five Nations Championship against France and Wales. He also played in the defeat to England at Twickenham. Dorward played one match in the 1955 Five Nations Championship in the loss to France. The following year he played against Ireland and England in the 1956 Five Nations Championship; losing both matches. He played four matches in the

1957 Five Nations Championship The 1957 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the sixty-third series of the northern hemisphere ru ...

, which included two victories. A win against the French in Paris and another against Wales at Murrayfield. His final two matches for Scotland ended in defeat. A loss to Ireland at Murrayfield and defeat to England at Twickenham. One of the highlights of his career was scoring a drop goal against Wales at Murrayfield to win the match 9–6 in 1957. He scored from just short of the halfway line and ten metres in from touch; his only international points.

Famous relatives

Arthurs brother

Tom Dorward Thomas Fairgrieve Dorward (27 March 1916, Galashiels – 5 March 1941, Castle Bytham, Lincolnshire) was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p138Scum.com player profile. Retrieved 20 February 2010 He died as the result of wounds re ...

was also capped for Scotland. The New Zealand lock,

Ali Williams Alexander James "Ali" Williams (born 30 April 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union player who played at lock, spending almost all of his playing career in his homeland. At provincial level, he played mainly with Auckland, though he spent one seaso ...

', maternal grandfather was his cousin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorward, Arthur 1925 births 2015 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Gala RFC players People educated at Sedbergh School People educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose Rugby union players from Galashiels Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players Rugby union scrum-halves