Jim Aitken (born 22 November 1947) is a British businessman and former

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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. His regular playing position was Prop.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Aitken played for his hometown club Penicuik, before moving to First Division

Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush * Gala (singer), Italian singer and songwriter *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman * GALA Choruses, an association of ...

. He was the Gala Captain for their 3 League Championships in 1979/80, 80/81 and 82/83.

Provincial career

Aitken was capped by South of Scotland. Aitken played for Scotland Probables in the Trial match against Scotland Possibles on 11 January 1975.

International career

Aitken was capped twice by Scotland 'B' - in 1975 and 1976 against France 'B' - before receiving a full senior cap. Aitken won 24 international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored one try, playing at loose head

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, between 1977 and 1984, and captained the Scottish Grand Slam side in the 1984 Five Nations Championship. Aitken won his first cap for Scotland at the age of 29 against England in 1977, but was then replaced by the legendary two-time Lion, Ian McLauchlan, because of concerns about his scrummaging. After working hard on his technique, he returned in 1981 and played 21 of the next 24 tests. He captained Scotland to victory against England at Twickenham in 1983, Scotland's first win there since 1971. He played in Scotland's 25–25 draw against New Zealand, still the closest that Scotland have ever come to beating the All Blacks. The next season, Scotland won the Grand Slam under his guidance, and he scored a crucial try against Wales to set up a winner-takes-all match versus France, which Scotland won 21–12. It was Scotland's first Grand Slam since 1925. He played one more game for Scotland against Romania before retiring with a Scotland captaincy record of played 7, won 5, drew 1, lost 1. A magnificent achievement to be remembered as one of Scotland's most successful ever skippers. In recent years he has been critical of the state of Scottish rugby, describing it as "a mess", particularly former Scotland coaching duo, Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer.

Business career

Aitken underachieved at High School but graduated from Edinburgh College of Commerce. He is now a successful businessman, owning one of Scotland's largest grain merchants and having sold his previous company, Scotmalt, in 2003. In 2009, he donated £100,000 to the Conservative Party, becoming the second-largest donor to the Scottish branch of the party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Jim 1947 births Living people Gala RFC players Penicuik RFC players Rugby union players from Penicuik Scotland 'B' international rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Scotland Probables players Scottish Conservatives Scottish rugby union players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players Rugby union props