Arthur Fairgrieve Dorward (3 March 1925 – 4 August 2015) was a Scottish international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played fifteen matches between 1950 – 1957.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Dorward was born in 1925 in

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

. He was educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose, and

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

in Cumbria, where he was head boy. Dorward proceeded to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he graduated with a degree in French and German. He played rugby for Cambridge University R.U.F.C. for three seasons, winning three blues and captaining the team in his final year. He was also a member of the 1948 Oxford-Cambridge rugby union tour of Argentina. Following his graduation he returned to Galashiels, to work for the family textile business, and play for

Gala RFC Gala Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. Founded in 1875, it plays its home games at Netherdale. The team currently competes in Scottish National League Division One, the second tier of Scottish c ...

, for whom he had already made his debut aged 17. All his club rugby was played with Gala, with whom he played for fifteen years, before retiring at the age of 32. He captained Gala for three seasons between 1954 and 1957. Leading the team to the 'unofficial' Scottish championship in 1957. He also won several Borders Sevens winners' medals at Gala, Hawick and Jed-Forest.

Provincial career

Dorward also represented the

South of Scotland South of Scotland may refer to: * The southern portion of Scotland ** Geography of Scotland * South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region) * South of Scotland (European Parliament constituency) * South of Scotland District (rugby uni ...

in the

Scottish Inter-District Championship The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish Int ...

. He played for the South against , and South Africa in tour matches. He was selected for the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

several times and was a member of the 1957 Barbarians tour of Canada.

International career

Dorward made his debut for against in the

1950 Five Nations Championship The 1950 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-first series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-sixth series of the northern hemisphere rugb ...

. Scotland won the match 8–5 at Murrayfield. His next match was against at Murrayfield on their 1951–52 South Africa rugby union tour. Scotland lost 44–0; one of seventeen consecutive defeats between 1951 and 1955. In the

1952 Five Nations Championship The 1952 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rug ...

he played against , and . He became the first Gala player to captain Scotland for the match against England. England won the match 19–3 at Murrayfield. Dorward captained Scotland twice during the 1953 Five Nations Championship against France and Wales. He also played in the defeat to England at Twickenham. Dorward played one match in the 1955 Five Nations Championship in the loss to France. The following year he played against Ireland and England in the

1956 Five Nations Championship The 1956 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the sixty-second series of ...

; losing both matches. He played four matches in the

1957 Five Nations Championship The 1957 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the sixty-third series of the northern hemisphere ru ...

, which included two victories. A win against the French in Paris and another against Wales at Murrayfield. His final two matches for Scotland ended in defeat. A loss to Ireland at Murrayfield and defeat to England at Twickenham. One of the highlights of his career was scoring a drop goal against Wales at Murrayfield to win the match 9–6 in 1957. He scored from just short of the halfway line and ten metres in from touch; his only international points.

Famous relatives

Arthurs brother Tom Dorward was also capped for Scotland. The New Zealand lock,

Ali Williams Alexander James Williams (born 30 April 1981) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player who played as a lock most notably for Super Rugby club Blues and the New Zealand national team. Williams spent almost all of his playing car ...

', maternal grandfather was his cousin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorward, Arthur 1925 births 2015 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Gala RFC players People educated at Sedbergh School People educated at St Mary's School, Melrose Rugby union players from Galashiels Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players Rugby union scrum-halves