William Edward Maclagan (5 April 1858 – 10 October 1926) 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 ...

forward who played club rugby for London Scottish F.C. Maclagan was one of the longest-serving international rugby players during the early development of the sport, and was awarded 25 caps for

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 ...

. He played international rugby for thirteen seasons, a Scottish record for sixty years,Griffiths (1987), pg 2:7. and led the first official

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

team on its 1891 tour of South Africa. Maclagan's contributions to the early development of rugby were recognised in 2009 with his induction into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Maclagan was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

(1869–1875), and on leaving joined the Edinburgh Academical rugby club.

Provincial career

He was capped by Edinburgh District in the inter-city match of 1877. He played for the East of Scotland District against the West of Scotland District on 9 February 1878 and 1 March 1879.

International career

Scotland

It was as an Academical player that Maclagan was first chosen to represent the Scotland national team. Although he would later play his rugby at three-quarter, Maclagan was placed at fullback when chosen to face

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Bat ...

. The next season Maclagan was again selected at fullback, and after a win against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, in only the second encounter between the two countries; Maclagan again faced England in the very first challenge for the Calcutta Cup. The England game was a dull 3–3 draw, but Maclagan was deemed to have served his team with outstanding play.Griffiths (1987), pg 2:4. He tackled bravely throughout the match, upsetting numerous English attacks. After playing two more games at fullback in 1880, Maclagan was switched into the three-quarter position and along with

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 ...

and John Campbell he became a part of the first three three-quarter line in international rugby. Maclagan continued at three-quarters, and after facing England and Ireland in both the 1880–81 and 1881–82 seasons he was selected for the first Scottish international with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

as part of the inaugural Home Nations Championship in

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Janua ...

. The Welsh team were beaten by three goals to nil, with Maclagan converting all three tries to earn himself his first international scores. Maclagan was on the score sheet again the next match when he converted one of the tries in a victory over Ireland, but was part of a losing Scottish team when they were beaten by England in the Triple Crown and Championship decider. Maclagan was given the captaincy of Scotland for the

1884 Home Nations Championship The 1884 Home Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 12 April 1884. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. England won the cham ...

, which saw identical results to the previous season; a win over Wales and Ireland, but a loss to eventual tournament winners England. The England match is most notable for the argument it caused between the two countries governing bodies, the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

and its English counterpart the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

. The two teams argued on the pitch for ten minutes after a knock-back led to the England try. The disagreement spilled over into the next season when Scotland refused to play England.Godwin (1984), pg 8. Maclagan retained the captaincy the next season, which saw Scotland draw against Wales and beat Ireland. Maclagan did not play in any of the matches of the 1885–86 season, with his place being taken by Reginald Morrison of

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 ...

. Scotland won the Championship for the first time during this season; a feat they would repeat the next season when Maclagan returned. Although no longer team captain, Maclagan scored his first international try against Ireland in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, and scored a second the very next match in a one-sided victory over Wales. The team drew against England, but the result was enough to give Scotland the Championship for the second time, making Maclagan a Home Nations champion. 1887 saw the official formation of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international ru ...

, an event which had its origins in the 1884 argument between Scotland and England. England refused to join the IRB resulting in their expulsion of the Home Nations Championship. Maclagan played in both games of the 1888 Championship, but missed the 1889 tournament, before returning for his final run of games for his country in

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship '' ...

. Macalagan regained the captaincy for all three games in 1889, scoring a try in the opening game against Wales at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

. His final match at England gave Maclaran his twenty-fifth cap, a record for a Scottish player at the time.

British and Irish Lions

Even though his career with the Scottish team was behind him, Maclagan was approached by the Rugby Football Union to captain a British Team to South Africa. Although called an English team at the time, mainly because the tour was organised by the English Union, the team contained four Scottish players in which is now recognised as the first official British and Irish Lions tour. He played in 19 of the 20 matches, including all three tests. In the final test of the series against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

he scored one of two tries, the other coming from

Randolph Aston Randolph Littleton Aston (6 September 1869 – 3 November 1930) was an English rugby union centre who played club rugby for Blackheath and Cambridge University and was a member of the first official British Isles tour in 1891. Personal history ...

Administrative career

Maclagan became the 22nd

President of the Scottish Rugby Union The President of the Scottish Rugby Union is the figurehead of rugby union in Scotland. Origin In 1873, and directly after the Scotland versus England international match, representatives from eight Scottish rugby union sides came together in ...

. He served the 1894-96 terms in office.

References

;Sources # #

External links

Commonwealth War Graves database

An entire team wiped out by the Great War
(''The Scotsman'')