On every level, Dougie was unwavering in his devotion to Scottish rugby
In amongst all of the tragic loss due to coronavirus, Scottish rugby lost one of its greats this week when Dougie Morgan passed away after a long illness.
Morgan won 21 caps for Scotland and two for the British & Irish Lions on the tour to New Zealand in 1977.
But his commitment to the game went far beyond simply playing.
Dougie was a typical scrumhalf. Not the biggest person on the pitch, but fiercely competitive in anything that he turned his hand to.
He was a talented all-round sportsman who was close to winning a cap for Scotland at cricket, although that sadly eluded him.
He gained notoriety in a match in Dublin when, with Scotland trailing by three points, he chose to run a penalty in an attempt to score a try in the closing seconds of the match, rather than accept a draw.
For Dougie, winning was everything.
I first came across him at Twickenham. He was in the Stewart’s-Melville sevens team that had been invited to compete in the Middlesex Sevens – one of the mostprestigious tournaments around at the time.
In that seven were the Calder brothers – Finlay and Jim – as well as Alex Brewster and Dougie Wylie, so they were packed full of talent.
I was representing Exeter University, who had managed to qualify.
But we faced Stew-Mel in the first round in front of 60,000 fans enjoying the early-summer sunshine.
We were outplayed by such experienced campaigners on the sevens circuit, and the Scottish side went on to win the
tournament – little surprise with such great talent and competitors amongst their number.
Our paths then crossed again when Dougie was involved at Edinburgh in a coaching capacity.
His approach to the game was thoughtful, shrewd and intuitive.
He was great at getting the very best out of his players, enthusing them with that desire and competitive hunger that coursed through his own veins.
We continued to work together with Scotland, when he was part of the coaching team working alongside Ian McGeechan, Jim Telfer and Derrick Grant.
It is hard to think of four men who have greater insights into the game in the world, let alone Scotland.
There is no surprise that the national side enjoyed such great success under their collective tenure.
Dougie then took on the mantle of Scotland coach in his own right in the early 1990s, leading the team to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in South Africa and to Scotland’s first victory in Paris for 26 years in 1995.
Dougie Morgan gave so much of his life to Scottish rugby – unwaveringly and always totally committed.
He will be sadly missed by the rugby community.