Dr John Lisle Hall McFarlane MB ChB (19 June 1851 – 17 March 1874) was a Scottish physician and 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 and sportsman.

Personal history

McFarlane was born in

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in 1851 to John MacFarlane, and Edinburgh-educated surgeon, who had married Anna Smith, the daughter of a Jamaican estate owner. McFarlane's middle name of Lisle was taken from his mother's forebears who held connections to the Barons Lisle. McFarlane grew up in Scotland and was educated at several of the country's finest schools. He attended the Edinburgh Institute of Maths before switching as a boarder at the private Abbey Park School in

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

. It was at the establishments that he developed his enjoyment of sport and where he began to play rugby. In 1869 he left Abbey Park to enrol at Craigmount School, supposedly just to get into the cricket team. McFarlane matriculated to

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

where he studied medicine. There he excelled across the sporting fields, playing cricket, representing the University in rugby and in athletics was the school's champion in hurdles, long jump and sprinting. In 1871, McFarlane's ability on the ruby field saw him selected as the sole member of the Edinburgh University team to be selected for the Scotland national team in the first ever rugby international. McFarlane was selected in the forward positions for the first international, in which Scotland beat

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 ...

by a goal to nil. McFarlane was selected for the next international the following year, again against England. On this occasion, England were victorious. McFarlane's final international was the 1873 meeting between Scotland and England, where McFarlane played in the three-quarters position. The game finished as a scoreless draw. Having finished college, McFarlane became a resident doctor at the

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...

. He still continued to play rugby for Edinburgh University. McFarlane also continued to play cricket during this period as his 'summer game'. He played for Carlton Cricket Club in Edinburgh and despite being just 19 was made first team vice-captain in 1871 and again in 1872. He was also the team's leading batsman in 1870.

Death

In early 1874, McFarlane played for

against

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

. The game ended in a draw, but McFarlane scored a try and impressed enough to be selected for the upcoming fourth Scotland international against England. A week later he again turned out for Edinburgh University against Royal High School RFC. McFarlane kicked the winning goal in the first quarter of the game, but in the final moments of the match he fell awkwardly and dislocated his knee. The injury itself was not life-threatening, but he was left for a considerable time on the cold ground before being moved for treatment. McFarlane returned home to Buccleuch Place in Edinburgh, where he developed

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

. This in turn was aggravated by

pericarditis Pericarditis () is inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp chest pain, which may also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is typically less severe whe ...

. McFarlane spent five weeks bed-ridden, cared for by his mother and family, and appeared to make a recovery only to suffer from a severe relapse which saw him rushed to

. His colleagues failed to save his life and he died on 17 March at the age of 22. A popular figure, his funeral was attended by a large number of students who walked in procession with his body from the infirmary to

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

. A public subscription raised enough money for a 12-foot stone obelisk to be erected at his grave, which also bears a relief portrait of McFarlane. The sculpture is by Edinburgh's leading sculptor of the day, Sir

John Steell Sir John Robert Steell (Aberdeen 18 September 1804 – 15 September 1891) was a Scottish sculptor. He modelled many of the leading figures of Scottish history and culture, and is best known for a number of sculptures displayed in Edinburgh, ...

. The grave stands towards the north-west within the original cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, John Lisle Hall 1851 births 1874 deaths People educated at Craigmount School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Edinburgh University RFC players People educated at Stewart's Melville College Sportspeople from Montego Bay Rugby union forwards Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players