Bill Watson (born 7 January 1949) is a former Scotland international rugby union player.

Rugby union career

Amateur career

Watson played for

Boroughmuir Boroughmuir RFC is a rugby union football club in the Scottish Rugby Union. The club's home ground is Meggetland, in southwest Edinburgh and the club plays in the , where they are known as the Boroughmuir Bears. Founded in 1919 and admitted to ...

Provincial career

He played for Edinburgh District.

International career

Watson was capped by Scotland 'B' once against France 'B' in 1971. He played for Scotland ten times, from 1974 to 1979. He was the Boroughmuir club's second Scotland international player (after Ken Ross in 1961).

Administrative career

Watson was a Director and then Chief Executive at the Scottish Rugby Union from 2000 to 2003. He was sacked as Chief Executive in 2003 as part of management shake-up. It came after under-performance from the national team and the professional clubs. Earlier that year Glasgow Warriors lost Jason White to

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

with Watson admitting that the Warriors could not compete with the English club in the cash stakes. He was a Director at

from 2012 to 2019. He handed over the role of director of finance to Alice Shek in 2018, becoming vice president of the club. It was while Watson was a director of the club that Boroughmuir instigated the Bill Watson Youth Rugby Bursary Programme. It was backed by the Microtech Group in a four-year deal. It was to cover all the costs of playing rugby for the youngsters, including touring. Watson stated:

I’m delighted that we can actively support the next generation of talented young people to get as much enjoyment out of rugby as I have, without any financial worries. The support from Microtech Group will go a long way in helping our young talent to fulfill their potential, whether that’s playing rugby for pleasure or going on to play the game professionally.

Family

Watson's brother George Watson played as Lock. He also played at

and was capped by Edinburgh District. Unlucky not to receive a full senior cap for Scotland, he was named in Alan Lorimer's selection for Scotland's best uncapped team.

References

1949 births Living people Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Boroughmuir RFC players Scotland 'B' international rugby union players Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Edinburgh Rugby union number eights Scottish sports executives and administrators {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub