Doctor Robert William Irvine, (1853–1897) nicknamed "Bulldog", was a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international rugby football player.Bath, p137

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He played for

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

Provincial career

He represented Edinburgh District against Glasgow District in the Inter-City matches; and played in the first match in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

. He represented East of Scotland District against West of Scotland District in

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

International career

He was capped 13 times for between 1871 and 1880, including the first ever rugby international.Bath, p4

Family

He was the brother of

Duncan Irvine Duncan Irvine was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p137 Rugby Union career Amateur career He played for Edinburgh Academicals; and Aberdeen Rangers. He was staying in Old Machar, Aberdeenshire in 1881 census. Provincial care ...

who was also capped for Scotland.

References

;Sources # Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) 1853 births 1897 deaths Rugby union players from Perth and Kinross Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Perthshire RFC players Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players East of Scotland District players Rugby union forwards {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub