Norman George Robertson Mair (7 October 1928 – 7 December 2014) was a Scottish international rugby union and cricket player.Bath, p105 He later became a journalist for ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' reporting on rugby and golf,McLaren, p88 and also wrote for ''

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 ...

.''

Life

Mair was born 7 October 1928 in Edinburgh, the youngest of the 11 surviving children of Elizabeth Mackay Bisset (1882-1950) and

Alexander William Mair Alexander William Mair (9 June 1875–13 November 1928) was a 20th century Scottish scholar who was Professor of Greek at the University of Edinburgh. He was an authority on the works of the Greek poet Hesiod. Life He was born in Edinburgh o ...

(1875-1928), professor of Greek at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. On 13 November 1928 his father died in a fire at the family home, 9 Corennie Drive,

Morningside, Edinburgh Morningside is a district and former village in the south of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies alongside the main arterial Morningside Road, part of an ancient route from Edinburgh to the south west of Scotland. The original village served several ...

. He was educated at

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 ...

(1942-1947).

Rugby Union

He studied at the

where he played for

Edinburgh University RFC Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland which currently plays its fixtures in the Edinburgh Regional Shield competition and the British Universities Premiership. It is one of the eight ...

. He was selected for the provincial Edinburgh District side and played 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 ...

. He won the title with Edinburgh in the inaugural 1953-54 season and was the championship's top points scorer of that season. He won four caps for the national rugby union team in 1951. He was inducted to the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame in 2013.

Cricket

He also played for the

Scotland national cricket team The Scotland national cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, and also some other venues. Scotland became Associate Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1994

. Mair 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 ...

in 1952. He was capped once, playing against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. He scored four not out in his only innings.

Sports journalism

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 ...

rated Mair as one of the best rugby journalists that Scotland produced: :"''I always have had a high regard for the coverage by Norman Mair, formerly of The Scotsman''. :"''Norman never was ''persona grata'' with all members 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 ...

because he wrote what he felt and had the ear of some very influential people in the game. There have been times when I have had to read one of Norman's sentences two or three times over in order to get the gist, but he has been one of the most perceptive of analysts and his articles have been both enlightening and enjoyable - especially the little humorous stories that were so often his punchlines.''" Writing of the Australian player Mark Ella, he once said: "''

Ella Ella may refer to: * Ella (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Places United States * Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincorporate ...

has hands so adhesive that when he fumbled a ball against (in 1984) you would not have been surprised to see those Australians of the appropriate religious persuasion cross themselves''" Mair was always outspoken in his opinions. In the early fifties, for example, criticising the large number of new caps in each game in 1953 and 1954, he said that he consider the "inhabitants of lunatic asylums... had a fair grievance while the S.R.U. selectors walked around free and uncertified."Massie, p54 He died at Thorburn Manor Care Home in

Colinton Colinton ( gd, Baile Cholgain) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north ...

Family

His daughter is Suzi Mair, who produces '' STV News at Six''.

Selected publications

* Mair, Norman, 1994, ''Muirfield'', Mainstream Publishing * John Rutherford and

Roy Laidlaw Roy James Laidlaw (born 5 October 1953) is a former Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, pp145, 146 Rugby Union career Amateur career Much of his domestic rugby was played with Jed-Forest RFC, who were in the Scottish Second Divi ...

with Norman Mair, ''Rugby Partnership'': Stanley Paul, 1988.

Bibliography

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) * McLaren, Bill ''Talking of Rugby'' (1991, Stanley Paul, London ) * Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

References

External links

SRU Profile

The Scotsman obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mair, Norman 1928 births 2014 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People educated at Merchiston Castle School Edinburgh University RFC players Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Scottish cricketers Scottish journalists Cricketers from Edinburgh Rugby union journalists Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Edinburgh Rugby union hookers