John Rutherford (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
John Young Rutherford nicknamed Rud or Ruddie, is a former Scottish rugby union footballer who gained 42 caps at fly-half between 1979 and 1987. He played for Selkirk RFC
and The South, and was chosen to tour with the British Lions
in 1983, being picked to play in the test team at inside centre.
Richard Bath writes of him that:
He was a major figure in Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam.
His final game for was their first match in the 1987 World Cup against , when he sustained a knee injury in the early minutes. He partnered scrum-half Roy Laidlaw
in 35 tests, at the time the record for any international half-back pairing.
Richard Bath writes of this partnership that:
Rutherford also played for the Rest of the World XV
.
After his exit from Scottish Rugby, John Rutherford went on to work in the financial sector, and direct a financial consultancy http://jrgonline.com/about/management.php
John Rutherford is a Director of The Bill McLaren Foundation
alongside Andy Irvine.
Selkirk RFC
Selkirk Rugby Football Club are a rugby union side based in Selkirk in the Borders, Scotland.They play in their home games at Philiphaugh, and are now in Premiership Division Two and the Border League ....
and The South, and was chosen to tour with the British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in 1983, being picked to play in the test team at inside centre.
Richard Bath writes of him that:
- "Outside , perhaps only the IrishIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
pair of Tony WardTony Ward (rugby player)Anthony Joseph Patrick Ward , commonly referred to as Tony Ward, was an Irish rugby union and soccer player during the 1970s and 1980s. He played rugby as a fly-half for, among others, Munster, Leinster, , the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians...
and Ollie CampbellOllie CampbellSeamus Oliver Campbell was an Irish rugby union player from 1976 to 1984. He was educated at Belvedere College, a famous Irish rugby school, where he was on the teams that won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup twice in a row in 1971 and 1972...
were able to hold a candle to fly-half John Rutherford, the man who dominated Scottish back play for most of the 1980s... Deceptively quick and a natural athlete, he was able to boot the ball prodigious distances or beat a man one-on-one, seemingly at will. Allied to a keen rugby intellect, Rutherford was Scotland's star turn throughout the 1980s."
He was a major figure in Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam.
His final game for was their first match in the 1987 World Cup against , when he sustained a knee injury in the early minutes. He partnered scrum-half Roy Laidlaw
Roy Laidlaw
Roy James Laidlaw is a Scottish rugby union footballer. Laidlaw was capped 47 times, as a scrum half, for Scotland between 1980–1988, and British Lions in New Zealand in 1983....
in 35 tests, at the time the record for any international half-back pairing.
Richard Bath writes of this partnership that:
- "every country has, at some stage, a double-act which sees two players through sheer longevity, become mentioned in the same breath... One of the most enduring partnerships was that of Jed-Forest's Roy LaidlawRoy LaidlawRoy James Laidlaw is a Scottish rugby union footballer. Laidlaw was capped 47 times, as a scrum half, for Scotland between 1980–1988, and British Lions in New Zealand in 1983....
and SelkirkSelkirk RFCSelkirk Rugby Football Club are a rugby union side based in Selkirk in the Borders, Scotland.They play in their home games at Philiphaugh, and are now in Premiership Division Two and the Border League ....
's John Rutherford. For nigh on a decade, the two were immovable at half-back for Scotland. Unlike most of the other famous pairings, however, it was Laidlaw and Rutherford's differences rather than their similarities, that melded them into an outstanding partnership. On the one hand, there was the peerless Rutherford, all grace and poise, who could glide through tackles and drill a ball onto a sixpence in the opposition's 22. On the other, there was Laidlaw, a gutsy fighter in the classic Borders mould. The pair played together on 35 occasions, a world record for a half-back partnership."
Rutherford also played for the Rest of the World XV
Rest of the World XV
The Rest of the World XV was a rugby union team selected to play one match against the British Lions, and was set up to commemorate the centenary of the International Rugby Football Board , which would shortly afterwards become the IRB or International Rugby Board...
.
After his exit from Scottish Rugby, John Rutherford went on to work in the financial sector, and direct a financial consultancy http://jrgonline.com/about/management.php
John Rutherford is a Director of The Bill McLaren Foundation
Bill McLaren Foundation
The Bill McLaren Foundation has been set up in Bill McLaren’s name, with the support of his family, to serve three purposes :* To develop and promote the sport of rugby union and its values* To encourage and provide sporting opportunities for young people...
alongside Andy Irvine.
External links
- http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=1951
- http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=1952
- The Bill McLaren Foundation The Bill McLaren Foundation