Andrew Ramsay Don-Wauchope
Encyclopedia
Andrew Ramsay "Bunny" Don-Wauchope (29 April 1861 – 16 January 1948) was a Scottish
international rugby union
forward who played club rugby for Cambridge
and Fettesian-Lorettonian
. Don Wauchope played an important role within the early growth of Scottish rugby and after retiring from international rugby he became a referee and was the President of the Scottish Rugby Union
. He was considered Scotland's outstanding half-back of the early 1880s and is credited as being one of the pioneers of modern half-back play.
Born into the Don-Wauchope Baronetcy
, Don-Wauchope was an all-round sportsman, representing his school and then university in rugby and athletics. He was a prolific try scorer, scoring six tries in his international career, though as a try was not worth any points at the time his scoring record remains blank. Don-Wauchope was also a keen cricketer, he went on to represent Scotland, playing in the very first encounter between Scotland and Ireland in 1888.
in 1861 to Sir John Don-Wauchope, 8th Baronet of Newton
and Bethia Hamilton Buchanan. He was the second son of the Baronet, and the title passed onto his elder brother John Douglas when their father died in 1893. Don-Wauchope was educated at Fettes College
before graduating to Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1880. He graduated from Cambridge with a BA in 1884, and whilst at university he won sporting Blues in rugby and in athletics for hurdling. Don-Wauchope became a stock-broker by profession and in 1903 he married Emma Margaret Salmond, daughter of Sir William Salmond. By 1941 he had taken up residency in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer
in France, and died in 1948 in Paris.
organised the first meeting of the Fettesian-Lorettonian Club, until then a loose collection of former school pupils that had played cricket together the previous season. The Club was founded in 1881, and by March of that year Don-Wauchope as captain of Fettesian-Lorettonian was chosen to represent Scotland
in the 1881
international friendly with England. The game ended in a draw, and although not present for Scotland's next encounter, against Ireland, he was again playing at half-back for the next match to England. The game was played at Manchester, with Scotland winning by two tries
to nil, the first time Scotland had beaten the English on their own soil.
While at Cambridge, Don-Wauchope took his Fettesian-Lorettonian team, firstly on tours of Scotland, and then venturing into North England. After playing several games against more well founded Scottish teams, such as West of Scotland and Edinburgh Wanderers, the club faced English teams, Manchester and Huddrsfield. Although losing my narrow score lines in Scotland, the Fettesian-Lorettonian team won both matches in England, which saw the Athletics News report "...persons who saw the doings of the Fettes-Loretto boys in Huddersfield and Manchester are willing to swear that a better team never existed, and a general wish has been expressed that Don-Wauchope should bring his grand team into the North of England once more."
After playing in the very first Scotland match against Wales in early 1883, scoring his first international try in the game, Don-Wauchope was incapacitated for the rest of the season with a knee injury. He regained his place for all three matches of the 1884 Home Nations Championship
, paired at half back with Oxford University rival Augustus Grant-Asher. After victories over Wales and Ireland, where he scored another try, this time against Ireland; the Scottish team were beaten by England in a contentious game at Blackheath. The next season saw Scotland draw to Wales, beat Ireland, and refuse to face England. Don-Wauchope played in both games of the 1885 Championship
and in the home clash with Ireland, not only scored his third international try, but was also joined at half-back with his younger brother Patrick Hamilton Don-Wauchope. This was Patrick's first international game, and he would go on to win five more caps for Scotland.
The 1886 Championship
saw Scotland win the tournament trophy for the first time, with wins over Wales and Ireland, and a draw against England. Don-Wauchope scored a try in the encounter with Wales and two in a massive victory over the Irish. Although missing all of the 1887 international matches, Don-Wauchope played one final game for his country in 1888
. Played at home against Ireland, he was given the honour of the Scotland captaincy, leading his team out to a final victory.
After his retirement from playing international rugby, Don-Wauchope kept his connections with the sport when he became a referee. He first officiated an international match in 1889 when he took charge of the Home Nations Championship
encounter between Wales and Ireland. It had been a busy day for Don-Wauchope, as he had spent the morning chairing a meeting of the International Rugby Board
. He went on to referee another two international games, in 1890
and 1893
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
forward who played club rugby for Cambridge
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...
and Fettesian-Lorettonian
Fettesian-Lorettonian Club
The Fettesian-Lorettonians Club is a Scottish sporting club made up of former pupils of Fettes College and Loretto School. The club was founded in 1881 and has seen members of its club represent the Scotland national rugby union team.-Club history:...
. Don Wauchope played an important role within the early growth of Scottish rugby and after retiring from international rugby he became a referee and was the President of the Scottish Rugby Union
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...
. He was considered Scotland's outstanding half-back of the early 1880s and is credited as being one of the pioneers of modern half-back play.
Born into the Don-Wauchope Baronetcy
Don-Wauchope Baronets
The Don, later Don-Wauchope Baronetcy, of Newton, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 7 June 1667 for Alexander Don. The sixth Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Roxburghshire The seventh Baronet was an actor...
, Don-Wauchope was an all-round sportsman, representing his school and then university in rugby and athletics. He was a prolific try scorer, scoring six tries in his international career, though as a try was not worth any points at the time his scoring record remains blank. Don-Wauchope was also a keen cricketer, he went on to represent Scotland, playing in the very first encounter between Scotland and Ireland in 1888.
Personal history
Don-Wauchope was born in Bridgeton, GlasgowBridgeton, Glasgow
Bridgeton is a district to the east side of Glasgow city centre. It is bounded by Glasgow Green to the west, Dalmarnock to the east and south and Calton to the north-west at Abercromby Street/ London Road...
in 1861 to Sir John Don-Wauchope, 8th Baronet of Newton
Don-Wauchope Baronets
The Don, later Don-Wauchope Baronetcy, of Newton, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 7 June 1667 for Alexander Don. The sixth Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Roxburghshire The seventh Baronet was an actor...
and Bethia Hamilton Buchanan. He was the second son of the Baronet, and the title passed onto his elder brother John Douglas when their father died in 1893. Don-Wauchope was educated at Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
before graduating to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1880. He graduated from Cambridge with a BA in 1884, and whilst at university he won sporting Blues in rugby and in athletics for hurdling. Don-Wauchope became a stock-broker by profession and in 1903 he married Emma Margaret Salmond, daughter of Sir William Salmond. By 1941 he had taken up residency in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer
Saint-Briac-sur-Mer
Saint-Briac-sur-Mer , is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine Department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer are called Briacins.As of the census of 1999, the town had a population of...
in France, and died in 1948 in Paris.
Rugby career
Don-Wauchope first came to note as a rugby player while studying at Cambridge. He won two sporting Blues for rugby in 1880 and 1881, and captained the Cambridge University team. Whilst still at University, Don-Wauchope and A.R. Paterson of Loretto SchoolLoretto School
Loretto School is an independent school in Scotland, founded in 1827. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.-History:Loretto was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. Langhorne came from Crosby Ravensworth, near Kirkby Stephen. The school was later taken over by his son,...
organised the first meeting of the Fettesian-Lorettonian Club, until then a loose collection of former school pupils that had played cricket together the previous season. The Club was founded in 1881, and by March of that year Don-Wauchope as captain of Fettesian-Lorettonian was chosen to represent Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
in the 1881
1880-81 Home Nations rugby union matches
The 1880-81 Home Nations rugby union matches were a series of international rugby union friendlies held between the England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales national rugby union teams. This season is most notable for the introduction of Wales as an international rugby union nation, playing their first...
international friendly with England. The game ended in a draw, and although not present for Scotland's next encounter, against Ireland, he was again playing at half-back for the next match to England. The game was played at Manchester, with Scotland winning by two tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
to nil, the first time Scotland had beaten the English on their own soil.
While at Cambridge, Don-Wauchope took his Fettesian-Lorettonian team, firstly on tours of Scotland, and then venturing into North England. After playing several games against more well founded Scottish teams, such as West of Scotland and Edinburgh Wanderers, the club faced English teams, Manchester and Huddrsfield. Although losing my narrow score lines in Scotland, the Fettesian-Lorettonian team won both matches in England, which saw the Athletics News report "...persons who saw the doings of the Fettes-Loretto boys in Huddersfield and Manchester are willing to swear that a better team never existed, and a general wish has been expressed that Don-Wauchope should bring his grand team into the North of England once more."
After playing in the very first Scotland match against Wales in early 1883, scoring his first international try in the game, Don-Wauchope was incapacitated for the rest of the season with a knee injury. He regained his place for all three matches of the 1884 Home Nations Championship
1884 Home Nations Championship
The 1884 Home Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 12 April 1884...
, paired at half back with Oxford University rival Augustus Grant-Asher. After victories over Wales and Ireland, where he scored another try, this time against Ireland; the Scottish team were beaten by England in a contentious game at Blackheath. The next season saw Scotland draw to Wales, beat Ireland, and refuse to face England. Don-Wauchope played in both games of the 1885 Championship
1885 Home Nations Championship
The 1885 Home Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Four matches were played between 3 January and 21 February 1885. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales...
and in the home clash with Ireland, not only scored his third international try, but was also joined at half-back with his younger brother Patrick Hamilton Don-Wauchope. This was Patrick's first international game, and he would go on to win five more caps for Scotland.
The 1886 Championship
1886 Home Nations Championship
The 1886 Home Nations Championship was the fourth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 2 January and 13 March 1886. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales...
saw Scotland win the tournament trophy for the first time, with wins over Wales and Ireland, and a draw against England. Don-Wauchope scored a try in the encounter with Wales and two in a massive victory over the Irish. Although missing all of the 1887 international matches, Don-Wauchope played one final game for his country in 1888
1888 Home Nations Championship
The 1888 Home Nations Championship was the sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 4 February and 10 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England was excluded from the Championship due to their refusal to join the...
. Played at home against Ireland, he was given the honour of the Scotland captaincy, leading his team out to a final victory.
After his retirement from playing international rugby, Don-Wauchope kept his connections with the sport when he became a referee. He first officiated an international match in 1889 when he took charge of the Home Nations Championship
1889 Home Nations Championship
The 1889 Home Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 2 February and 2 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
encounter between Wales and Ireland. It had been a busy day for Don-Wauchope, as he had spent the morning chairing a meeting of the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
. He went on to referee another two international games, in 1890
1890 Home Nations Championship
The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
and 1893
1893 Home Nations Championship
The 1893 Home Nations Championship was the eleventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 17 January and 11 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
.
International matches played
Scotland 1881, 1882, 1884, 1886 1884, 1885, 1886, 1888 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886See also
- List of Scottish cricket and rugby union players