John Shaw Thomson was a

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 ...

international who represented

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in the first international rugby match in 1871.

Early life

Thomson's father owned a clothing manufacturing business, Laird & Thomson, located in the Mile End area of Glasgow which employed around 450 people. In acknowledgement of their roots the street was named St Marnock Road ( the company had started in Kilmarnock). George Thomson's business prospered and the family lived in the prestigious Monteith Row, but as the industrialisation of Glasgow continued a pace, the Thomsons like many others moved from the grime and dirt of the east end to the leafier suburbs of Glasgow's West end, in the Woodlands area. John Shaw Thomson became a pupil at the Glasgow Academy and is recorded as having played for

Glasgow Academicals The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union (the future SRU) in 1873. History Glasgow Hawks In 1997 the decision was made to ...

in 1871Allan Massie, ''A portrait of Scottish rugby'', (Polygon), 1984Glasgow (Scotland). Academy, ''The Glasgow academy: the first hundred years'', (Pub. for the Glasgow academy by Blackie), 1946 and 1872. At that time, the club did not have open membership and had only been formed three years previous as a club for old pupils of

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

. Some records suggest he also played for St Andrews UniversityGlasgow Hawks records Thomson as having played for both, though gives his initial as W not J S
and therefore may have attended that university also.

Rugby union career

J.S. Thomson was selected to play in the first international rugby match in 1871 between Scotland and England. This was played on 27 March 1871 at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, and won by Scotland. Certain records for the match indicate that he played for Glasgow Academicals at the time, whilst others suggest that he was a

University of St Andrews RFC The University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club is an affiliated member of the University of St Andrews Athletic Union in Fife, Scotland. The club runs four men's and two women's teams, which play in the university leagues. History It was fou ...

player.E. H. D. Sewell, ''Rugby football up to date'', (Hodder and Stoughton, limited), 1921 It is possible that he was not exclusive to one or the other and therefore may have played for both. In Francis Marshall's 1892 publication, ''Football; the Rugby union game'', he is listed as playing for St Andrews as well, although on one occasion he is referred to as J Thompson in a picture of the 1871 Scotland side and on another occasion he is referred to as W Thomson. In 1872, J S Thomson was also part of another historic first rugby encounter when he was selected as part of the representative side of Glasgow District, to face a representative side from Edinburgh District. This was the inaugural inter-city match between Glasgow and Edinburgh, that today is known as the 1872 Cup and has the distinction of being the oldest inter-city rugby competition in the world.Glasgow Accies official site - ''1872 and all that''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, J.S. 1845 births 1925 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Alumni of the University of St Andrews University of St Andrews RFC players Glasgow District (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Glasgow