Dick Allan (born 16 March 1939 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a former 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. Allan played as a scrum-half.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Allan went to

Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school for pupils aged 3-18 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641 It is a selective school, m ...

in Glasgow. Leaving school Allan then played for

Hutchesons' GSFP Hutchesons' GSFP RFC was an amateur rugby union club in Glasgow, Scotland. The club no longer exists. In 1990, they merged with rivals Old Aloysians RFC to form Hutchesons Aloysians. History Hutchesons' GSFP was formed in 1923, by former pupi ...

Provincial career

He played for Glasgow District 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 ...

, captaining the side. He played in the 1964–65 Scottish Inter-District Championship when Glasgow shared the title with

South of Scotland South of Scotland may refer to: * The southern portion of Scotland ** Geography of Scotland * South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region) * South of Scotland (European Parliament constituency) * South of Scotland District (rugby union) ...

International career

He played 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 the ...

only the once, on 22 February 1969. He played in the Five Nations match at Murrayfield against Ireland. Scotland lost the match 16–0. Hopes were high for Allan before the match as it was noted he had a 'devastating break'. In a match where

Jim Telfer James Telfer (born 17 March 1940) is a Scottish former rugby union coach and player. As a player, he won 21 international caps in the amateur era, also having a career as a headmaster at Hawick High School and Galashiels Academy and Forrester H ...

suffered concussion and

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

suffered a dislocated shoulder for the Scots, ''The Glasgow Herald'' later noted: "Though Peter Brown won occasional ball, Allan rarely received tidy distribution. Again from the scrummage with the Scottish heel frequently upset by the Irish wheel, Allan was given much worthless ball. In such circumstances the scrum half did well to prevent the effect of bad ball from being multiplied by the close attention that

Colin Telfer Colin McLeod Telfer (born 26 February 1947, in Hawick)player profile
at scrum.com. Retrieved 15 F ...

was paid by the destructive

Jim Davidson James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows '' Big Break'' and ''The Generation Game''. He also developed two adult pantomime shows such as ''B ...

. Allan's game had to brave and selfless, and only the once had he the chance to attempt a close quarter break from one of the few rucks that Scotland won, after a charge by

Rodger Arneil Rodger Arneil (born 1 May 1944) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He was played on two British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of ...

Colin Telfer Colin McLeod Telfer (born 26 February 1947, in Hawick)player profile
at scrum.com. Retrieved 15 F ...

was caught before that thrust could be extended."

References

External links

ESPN Profile
1939 births Living people Scotland international rugby union players Hutchesons' GSFP players Scottish rugby union players Rugby union players from Glasgow Glasgow District (rugby union) players Rugby union scrum-halves People educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School {{scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub