John Dewar Dallas (11 June 1878 – 31 July 1942) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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. Dallas played international rugby for

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 ...

but is more notable as a rugby referee, and his officiating of the ''" Match of the Century"'', the famous encounter between

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1905, a match seen as one of the greatest games in the history of the rugby union. He became the 39th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He captained his school's rugby team. Dallas played club rugby for

Watsonians Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, ...

. He was elected Vice-Captain in 1898. He won the

Scottish Unofficial Championship The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competi ...

with Watsonians in the 1902–03 season.

Provincial career

He represented Edinburgh District in 1902.

International career

Dallas played just a single international game for Scotland, the encounter with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the 1903 Home Nations Championship. Scotland had already beaten Wales and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the tournament, and a win over England would give the Scottish team the Triple Crown. Dallas was brought into the pack, along with a returning Jimmy Ross, as replacements for David Bedell-Sivright and captain

Mark Coxon Morrison Mark Coxon Morrison (2 April 1877 – 10 May 1945) was a Scotland, Scottish international rugby union footballer who captained both Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland and the British and Irish Lions. Rugby Union career Amateur caree ...

. Although not an exciting game, the close score made this an interesting game, with Scotland finishing 10-6 winners. Dallas not only ended the game as a Triple Crown winning player, but he also scored one of two Scottish tries, when he crossed the line in the first half after good build-up work from wing James Stirling MacDonald. Despite the victory and the score, Dallas never represented the Scotland national team again, the Scottish selectors preferring heavy scrummagers whereas Dallas' play was more of a fast wing-forward.Smith (1980), pg 155.

Referee career

In 1905 the first New Zealand touring team came to Britain, and brought an exciting tactical game that the British clubs found difficult to play against. Before the team came to

, they had played 27 matches against teams from Scotland, England and Ireland, and beaten them all, including victories over the three national teams. Wales had just won the Home Nations Championship and were seen as possessing one of the greatest teams in the sport's history. The encounter between Wales and New Zealand was seen as a great challenge between the two hemispheres, and was being dubbed the 'Game of the Century' before the match had taken place. In the buildup to the game, the New Zealand manager George Dixon and the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

had difficulty agreeing on a referee.Smith (1980), pg 154. Four officials had been rejected before the WRU, using I.B. regulations called on a neutral union, in this case the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...

, to choose a referee on their behalf. Scotland chose Dallas. This was Dallas' first international match as a referee but the game started controversially for him as he was criticised for his poor choice of attire. Dallas turned up for the match wearing street clothes and his boots had neither bars or studs.Smith (1980), pg 167. Dallas was also criticised during the game for being unable to keep up with the action. In a thrilling game, the match was decided by a single try, scored by

Teddy Morgan Edward Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for scorin ...

to give Wales the win. Unfortunately for Dallas the game is also remembered for a controversial decision where New Zealand centre

Bob Deans Robert George Deans (19 February 1884 – 30 September 1908) was a New Zealand and Canterbury rugby union footballer. In 1905, Deans entered New Zealand rugby folklore for his disallowed try against Wales in the famous '' Match of the Century''. ...

claimed to have grounded the ball over the Welsh goal line, only to have the try disallowed by Dallas. Deans stated that he scored the try, but was dragged back over the line by the Welsh defence. Although New Zealand manager Dixon attacked Dallas in private for not being able to keep up with the game, and thus missing the try; Dallas had no doubts, he believed that Deans had grounded the ball 6 to 12 inches short.Smith (1980), pg 168. The IRB kept faith with Dallas, and he continued to referee at international level, officiating over the Wales vs. Ireland encounter in the 1908 Home Nations Championship then Wales vs. England and Ireland vs. England in the 1909 Championship. Dallas refereed four more matches, when the Championship became the Five Nations Championship with the inclusion of France. Dallas was given the England vs Wales and Ireland vs. Wales in the 1910 Five Nations Championship, Ireland vs. England in the 1911 Championship and a final game in the 1912 tournament between Ireland and Wales. Dallas refereed one more international match and it provides a quirky claim to fame. This was the Ireland v South Africa match in 1912. Originally the match was supposed to be refereed by Frank Potter-Irwin, the English referee. However, in the days before the match Potter-Irwin fell ill. The

stepped in to help. They suggested John Tulloch, the Scottish referee, and this was accepted by both teams. Some of the press reports still credit Tulloch or Potter-Irwin for the match. However it was Dallas that took the field rather than Tulloch. More quirkier, Dallas became injured or 'lame' in the first half and could not continue for the second half. So the Irish referee Fred Gardiner had to step in and referee the second half. It was this international match that first saw the use of a substitute referee: Dallas the original referee and Gardiner the substitute.

Administrative career

He became the 39th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served one year from 1912 to 1913. He was one of two Scottish representatives on the International Rugby Board.

Military career

During the First World War, Dallas joined the British Army and was posted to The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) as part of the 16th Battalion. He saw service in German East Africa and Portuguese East Africa.

Outside of rugby and military

A lawyer, he was called to the Scottish Bar in 1905. His legal career was interrupted by his military career. In his later life he was a judge based in Aberdeen.Steam trawler "Rose" and steam trawler "Sidmouth"
grantontrawlers.com Dallas was a notable tennis player. He also partook in other sports:- golf, bowling, angling and shot.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas, John 1878 births 1942 deaths Rugby union players from Edinburgh Scottish rugby union players Rugby union forwards Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union referees Royal Scots soldiers British Army personnel of World War I McCrae's Battalion Scottish Districts referees Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Military personnel from Edinburgh