The 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 ...

is the figurehead of

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 ...

in Scotland.

Origin

In 1873, and directly after the

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versus

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international match, representatives from eight Scottish

sides came together in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

at the

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in Elmbank Street. They decided to form an organisation to develop the sport in Scotland. It was initially called the Scottish Football Union, but changed its name to the

to give clarity from association football. They had a number of initial aims:- to help promote a cup competition; to bring closer working between the Scottish clubs; and to form a committee so that the

international team could be picked. A committee was thus formed and

John Chiene John Chiene, CB, LLD, MD, FRSE, FRCSEd (25 February 1843 – 29 May 1923) was a Scottish surgeon, who was Professor of Surgery at the University of Edinburgh during some of its most influential years. He was a founder of the Edinburgh ...

was nominated as the Chair.

thus became the first President of the Scottish Rugby Union.

Powers and duties

The objective of the President of the SRU is to ensure a coordinated, collegiate approach to working with all stakeholders in the game. Each President holds the role of Chairman of the Scottish Rugby Council concurrently when in office.

Ceremonial roles

The President of the Scottish Rugby Union has performed many ceremonial roles to promote the sport in Scotland. These have included presenting the match ball in the Six Nations Championship; and providing International players with their caps.

Selection process

The member clubs provide candidates for election as President of the Scottish Rugby Union. Usually two candidates are nominated; the first three-way candidate election was in 2007. It is common for the Vice-President to win the backing of the clubs when the President steps down from the role. The office of Vice-President is also an elected one.

Election

The members clubs of the Scottish Rugby Union vote to see who becomes President. The vote is held at the Annual General Meeting; and is ratified at the AGM.

Tenure

The post was traditionally a one-year term, but presidents were allowed to run for office for a subsequent year.

is the only President to hold the role for two distinct time periods, becoming the first and fifth President. This is now prohibited by Bye-Law 12.4 which states:-

Without prejudice to interim appointments made under Bye-Law 12.8 or Bye-Law 12.10, a person is only eligible to be elected once as Vice-President and to hold office once as President.

Tom Scott held the post before and after the First World War. There were no Presidents elected during the conflict and his two terms can be considered contiguous. Indeed, sources usually attribute his period for the entire war.''Forsyth's Rugby Record Season 1948-49''. R. W. Forsyth Ltd. Edinburgh and Glasgow The Second World War meant Presidencys were longer:

Patrick Munro Patrick Munro (9 October 1883 – 3 May 1942), also known as Pat Munro, was a Scotland international rugby union player and later a British Conservative politician.Scrum.com player profile. Retrieved 20 February 2010 Rugby union career Amateur ...

was President from 1939 to 1942; and Harry Smith took over from 1942 until 1947. In 2016, Rob Flockhart became the first 'two-term' President. This rule-change meant that Flockhart - and subsequent Presidents - could serve two years without standing for election for the second term.

References

{{Reflist Scottish Rugby Union