Ronald "Ron"/"Ronnie" C. Cowan (born 26 November 1941) is a Scottish former

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 ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for the British Lions, and , and at club level for

Selkirk RFC Selkirk Rugby Football Club are a rugby union side based in Selkirk in the Borders, Scotland. They play in their home games at Philiphaugh, and compete in the Scottish Premiership (the highest tier of club rugby) and the Border League (the olde ...

, 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 ...

, i.e. number 11 or 14,Bath, p118Bath, p88 and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, and at club level for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

( Heritage No.), as a , or , i.e. number 2 or 5, or, 3 or 4.

Background

Cowan was born in Selkirk, Scotland.

Rugby union playing career

Cowan was capped five times for in 1961–62. He also played for

. He went on the

1962 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1962 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. Overall the tourists played twenty-five matches, winning sixteen, losing five and drawing four. The Lions were unsuccessful in the test series against , losing by ...

Rugby league playing career

Cowan transferred to

during the 1962–63 season, and scored 119- tries during his rugby league career.

International honours

Cowan represented

(RL) while at Leeds, he was an interchange/ substitute in the 2–19 defeat by St. Helens at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hoste ...

, St. Helens on Wednesday 27 January 1965, to mark the switching-on of new

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Cowan played left-, i.e. number 4, (replaced by interchange/ substitute Les Dyl) in

' 7–24 defeat by

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the 1970–71 Challenge Cup Final during the 1970–71 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 15 May 1971, in front of a crowd of 85,514.

County Cup Final appearances

Cowan played , i.e. number 2, in

' 2–18 defeat by

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

in the 1964–65

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1964–65 season at

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

on Saturday 31 October 1964, and played left-, i.e. number 4, in the 23–7 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

in the 1970–71

Final during the 1970–71 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 21 November 1970.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Cowan played left-, i.e. number 4, in

' 9–5 victory over St. Helens in the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1970–71 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Rugby Stadium,

on Tuesday 15 December 1970.

Genealogical information

Cowan is the son of the rugby union and rugby league footballer for

;

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

"Jim"/ "Jimmy" Cowan, and the younger brother of the rugby union, and rugby league footballer; Stan Cowan.

Notes

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) * Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

References

External links

Statistics at en.espn.co.ukSearch for "Cowan" at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Ronnie 1941 births Living people British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland Hull F.C. players Leeds Rhinos players Other Nationalities rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Selkirk, Scottish Borders Rugby union players from Selkirk, Scottish Borders Rugby union wings Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby league players Scottish rugby union players Selkirk RFC players Rugby articles needing expert attention