Watson’s production line is strong as ever
Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools
GEORGE Watson’s College made a slow start compared with many of Scotland’s great rugby schools with little presence from their old boys in the early Scotland internationals, other than John Tod, but the Edinburgh school began to flex their muscles and become a major force in the first decade of the 20th century.
One big name from that era was Eric “Puss” Milroy, right, a student at the school between
1895 and 1906 which culminated in him not only captaining the First XV from scrum-half but winning the Watsonian medal awarded for combined scholarship and sporting prowess.
After leaving school to study mathematics at Edinburgh University he became a stalwart of the Watsonians side and got the Scotland call for the Wales game in Cardiff in 1910. Milroy went well in adversity and became a fixture in the side over the next four years, so much so that he captained Scotland in their final international before the outbreak of WW1, a dramatic 16-15 defeat against England at Invereith.
Like almost all of his generation, Milroy automatically joined up and eventually found his way to the Western Front as a lieutenant in the Black Watch. He was killed in action at Delville Wood on July 18, 1916 with his body never being recovered. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France.
The death of the last Scotland captain before the war had a huge impact. Milroy’s mother, who until her death used to light a candle in her front room every night to “guide her boy home” presented a trophy to the school which was subsequently awarded to the best kicker in the First XV each season. Both Gavin and Scott Hastings won it in future years.
The Auld Alliance trophy – presented to the winners of the annual Six Nations match between Scotland and France – is inscribed with the names of Milroy and French aviator Marcel Bergun who captained their respective sides in the last pre-war international. A biannual Black Watch trophy has also been established between army veterans from the two countries.
Another huge Watsonian figure from this first decade of the 20th century was rugged forward John MacCallum who won no fewer than 26 caps between 1904 and 1912 when he was the mainstay of a much respected Scotland pack.
MacCallum was a singular character, becoming a surgeon at the Royal Sick Children Hospital in Glasgow where he was working at the outbreak of war. He immediately applied for conscientious objector status but the paperwork hadn’t arrived when he was required to report for conscription at Stirling Castle. He missed that appointment and he was fined, but regardless of that he continued to do valuable work throughout the war as the tuberculosis officer for Argyll.
Yet another notable Watsonian of this era was centre Alex Angus who was an automatic choice for Scotland between 1909 and 1914. Remarkably
he was able to continue his career after hostilities, one of just three Scots to be capped either side of WW1, the others being Jock Wemyss and Charlie Usher. Angus was also a Scotland cricketer of note.
Between the wars Sandy Gillies was a notably successful No.8 playing in three of Scotland’s four Grand Slam games in 1925, while in the 1930s Robert Thom won a cap on the wing and John Ritchie was a regular at hooker in a strong Scotland team in 1933 and 1934. Ritchie later died while working, as a prisoner of war, on the Siam-Burma railway.
In more modern times George Watson’s produced some formidable players, especially in the backs with the Hastings brothers, while David Johnston and Euan Kennedy were also players of repute.
Johnston was a multi-talented individual, a trained lawyer and a professional footballer with Heart of Midlothian before he fully concentrated on rugby which he had played at school. Johnston made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1979 and was ever present in Scotland’s Grand Slam year of 1984 scoring a try in their win over England.
All Scotland Grand Slam-winning sides have enjoyed a Watsonian influence and playing alongside Johnston in two of those games in 1984 was fellow centre Kennedy, whose brief career only encompassed four caps in total.
When Scotland next achieved the Slam there was a massive old Watsonian influence in the Hastings brothers, possibly the school’s most illustrious rugby products. Nor were they the only players in their family. Father Clifford had been a notable player at the school and elder brother Graeme played for Scotland Schools before emigrating to Australia.
Gavin and Scott excelled at school and both captained the Scotland Schools team while Gavin became the first Scotland Schools skipper to enjoy victory over their English counterparts on England soil.
Gavin, of course, went on to appear in 61 Tests for Scotland and another six for the Lions whom he captained on their 1993 tour of New Zealand. His son Adam, currently at Gloucester, also learned most of his rugby at George Watson’s before finishing his schoolboy career at Millfield.
Scott meanwhile enjoyed an equally glittering Scotland career running alongside his brother, winning 65 Scotland caps and going on the same two Lions tours in 1989 and 1993, winning two caps although a broken cheek bone curtailed his involvement in New Zealand.
In the modern-day Scottish Schools Cup, which started in 1984, Watsons had to stay patient with their first taste of the big time coming in the noughties when they lost three finals – to Merchiston Castle in 2002 and 2008, and Edinburgh Academy in 2012.
Victory when it came though was sweet and started something of an avalanche of success with four straight titles between 2013 and 2016 when they proved the side to beat on the Scottish circuit.
During those years there were Murrayfield finals – and wins – against the HS Dundee, Dollar Academy and twice against old rivals Merchiston. Glory days. There was the sniff of another title just before Covid, with a strong campaign in 2020 which ultimately saw them lose to Stewart’s Melville in
an entertaining tie. Throughout this time there have also been seven U16 titles, the George Watson’s conveyor belt would appear to be as productive as ever.