Ninian Jamieson Finlay (31 January 1858 – 7 March 1936Godwin, p147) was a Scottish international

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player.Bath, p136 He was capped nine times for between 1875–81, and is generally considered to be the youngest player ever to be capped for - he was seventeen years and thirty six days old when he was capped against on 8 March 1875.Bath, p65 He vies for this record with Charles Reid, who was the same age when capped - however, Reid had lived through an extra leap year day, when he was capped in 1881.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Finlay attended

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

, which he was attending when capped. :"''Ninian was still a schoolboy, but was such an incredibly powerful runner, and sublime drop-kicker that he became the first real superstar of Scottish rugby.''" He later played for

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

and

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 ...

Provincial career

Finlay played for Edinburgh District. He played for East of Scotland District in

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

International career

The first historian of Scottish rugby, R.J. Phillips, says of Ninian Finlay, "there never was such glamour and reputation attached to any Scottish player till A.R. Don Wauchope reached the zenith of his powers."Massie, p9

Law career

In later life he was a

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

Family

Ninian was the brother of

James Finlay James Finlay was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p136 Rugby Union career Amateur career Finlay played for . Provincial career Finlay was capped for Edinburgh District, playing in the very first inter-city match in 187 ...

, who was capped four times for Scotland (1871–75), Arthur Finlay, who received a single cap (1875), and

Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay Robert Bannatyne Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay, (11 July 1842 – 9 March 1929), known as Sir Robert Finlay from 1895 to 1916, initially formally qualified as a doctor, was a British barrister and politician, and Lord High Chancellor of Gre ...

. In the 1875, 0-0 draw with at

Raeburn Place Raeburn Place is the main street of the suburb of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the name of the playing fields there. Rugby The first ever international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 Ma ...

, all three brothers played, with James winning his last cap, and Arthur and Ninian winning their first:Bath, p52

References

;Sources # Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) # Godwin, Terry ''Complete Who's Who of International Rugby'' (Cassell, 1987, ) # Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; ) 1858 births 1936 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh East of Scotland District players Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Edinburgh University RFC players People educated at Edinburgh Academy Rugby union players from Edinburgh Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players Rugby union halfbacks {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub