Neil McPherson
OBE, (26 September 1892 – 12 November 1957) was a Welsh
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 who represented
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 ...
and the
British Lions. McPherson played club rugby for
Newport and captained the team in the 1921/22 season.
McPherson gained his first cap for Scotland in 1920 against Wales at
Inverleith
Inverleith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Lìte'') is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills a ...
alongside teammate Dr E Fahmy, who also played his club rugby in Wales. Scotland won 9–5, and prevented Wales from winning the Grand Slam. After accepting a gold watch as part of Newport's invincible 1922/23 season, 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 ...
suspended McPherson for what they saw as an act of professionalism; but he was later re-instated. McPherson's last game for Scotland was against Ireland, but was chosen to join the
British Lions 1924 tour of South Africa, when he played in all four tests against the Springboks.
International matches played
''Scotland''
* 1920, 1921, 1923
* 1921
* 1920, 1923
* 1920
''British Lions''
* 1924, 1924, 1924, 1924
References
ESPN Scrum – Neil McPherson
1892 births
1957 deaths
Rugby union players from Cardiff
Welsh people of Scottish descent
Scottish rugby union players
Welsh rugby union players
Newport RFC players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Scotland international rugby union players
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union props
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