Ian Swan (14 July 1930 – 18 September 2004) 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 ...

player. He played as a

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

Rugby union career

Amateur career

He played rugby at

Madras College Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell. History Madras ...

, his school. Moving to University, he played rugby for St. Andrews University. After university Swan joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in the army. He played for the

Army Rugby Union The Army Rugby Union (ARU) is the governing body for rugby union in the British Army and a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J. E. C. "Birdie" Partr ...

side.The Essential History of Rugby Union: Scotland. Nick Oswald and John Griffiths. Swan played for London Scottish. In the 1950s the Scotland selectors only considered selection for the national team if the players played in Scotland or for London Scottish. Yet Swan moved to play for the Leicester Tigers which he captained. Swan then played for

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

International career

He was capped for 17 times from 1953 to 1958. In 1955 he turned down an opportunity to play for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

Administration

Swan became a Vice President of Hawick then Jedforest.

Other sports

Tennis

Swan won a Scottish mixed doubles title. He represented the South of Scotland at tennis.

Golf

A keen golfer, he was a member of the Royal and Ancient Club in St Andrews from 1963. He won the Queen Victoria Jubilee Vase in 1985. He was also a member of the Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe golf club in Lot et Garonne France.

Athletics

He represented the Army at athletics.

Business

He became a Director at Pringle in Hawick. He later launched Kall-Kwik Printing franchises in Edinburgh.

References

1930 births 2004 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players London Scottish F.C. players University of St Andrews RFC players Leicester Tigers players Army rugby union players Coventry R.F.C. players Rugby union players from Fife Rugby union wings {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub