Frans Herman ten Bos (21 April 1937 – 1 September 2016) was a Scottish rugby union footballer. He played for as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

in the 1960s,Massie, p173 and was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

seventeen times. Ten Bos attended

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, where he was introduced to the game, and later played for Oxford University RFC and

London Scottish FC London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is currently playing in the RFU Championship. The club share the Athletic Ground wi ...

. Ten Bos was controversially dropped before the Scotland- game in Dublin in 1960, because he was recovering from an injury.McLaren, p90 Yet according to

Bill McLaren William Pollock McLaren (16 October 1923 – 19 January 2010) was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Known as 'the voice of rugby', he retired from commentating in 2002. Renowned throughout th ...

, "he took part in all the preparatory activities and pronounced himself as fit to play. He certainly gave it 100 per cent during a vigorous session." Yet Alf Wilson, chairman of the selectors, did not think so, and he was replaced by Oliver Grant of

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...

. McLaren continues: "there was a feeling that ten Bos had been unfairly treated and that the lad himself was hurt and distressed by the decision to leave him out." Notably, ten Bos scored a try against in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, in the 1962 match there, which resulted in Scotland's first victory against Wales in an away game in thirty five years; the score was 8-3 to Scotland.McLaren, p122 A famous story involving ten Bos and Hugh McLeod is told by

. On the evening before the 1963 game between and at Colombes in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Hugh McLeod and Bill McLaren were out having a meal together and bumped into ten Bos near a cafe.McLaren, p123 Hugh McLeod took Ten Bos aside, and told him bluntly: :"''Frans, ye think ye're a guid forrit orwardbut really ye're jist a big lump o' potted meat. If ah was half yer size I'd pick up the first two Frenchman that looked at me the morn omorrowand ah'd chuck them right ower the bloody stand.''" Scotland later won the game 11-6, rare for an away game. Ten Bos tapped McLaren on the shoulder as they left the cafe, and said, "You know, I'd follow him anywhere." He later became Chairman of Henderson Strata Investments. He is profiled in the August, 1973 edition of ''

Rugby World ''Rugby World'' is a monthly rugby union magazine running since October 1960. It is published monthly by Future plc and edited by Owain Jones who took over from long-standing editor Paul Morgan in January 2012. Paul Morgan was long considered ...

''. He died on 1 September 2016 at the age of 79.ten Bos.-Frans H.
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References and sources

Printed and Electronic Sources

* McLaren, Bill Talking of Rugby (1991, Stanley Paul, London ), * Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

on Fettes.com

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bos, Frans 1937 births 2016 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford English people of Dutch descent English rugby union players London Scottish F.C. players Oxford University RFC players People educated at Lathallan School People educated at Fettes College Rugby union players from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Sportspeople from Richmond, London Scotland international rugby union players Scottish people of Dutch descent Scottish rugby union players Rugby union locks