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 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.Bath, p137
Rugby union career
Amateur
He played for West of Scotland.
Provincial
He was capped by Glasgow District in the inter-city match of 5 December 1891.
International
He was capped fourteen times for between 1891 and 1896.
Administrative
Along with his brothers, William and Robert, he was a president of 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 ...
. George was the 28th
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 Gla ...
. He served the 1901–1902 term in office.
Family
His father was James Neilson, an Ironmaster and second cousin of
Walter Montgomerie Neilson
Walter Montgomerie Neilson (28 November 1819 – 8 July 1889) was a Scottish locomotive and marine engineer and manufacturer. He was born in Glasgow, the son of James Beaumont Neilson, inventor of the hot blast furnace. Walter was trained as an ...
and his mother was Jane Thomson, daughter of
George Thomson George Thomson may refer to:
Government and politics
* George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician
* George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...
, the famous Glasgow shipbuilder. He attended
Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...
.
He was the brother of
Willie
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
,
Gordon
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
and Robert Neilson who were also capped for Scotland. In 1891, he made his debut, along with his brother William in the game against – it is the only time that brothers have debuted together for Scotland, with the exception of the joint debut of
Gavin
Gavin is a male given name originating from Scotland. It is a variation on the medieval name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk" (or falcon). Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is an ep ...
and Scott Hastings.Bath, p97 One of the four Neilson brothers played in each of the twenty five matches between Willie and George's debut in 1891, until 1899, when Robert had to withdraw from the
Calcutta Cup
The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...