Ninian Jamieson Finlay was a Scottish international rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

 players. He was capped nine times for between 1875-81, and is generally considered to be the youngest player ever to be capped for - he was seventeen years and thirty six days old when he was capped against on 8th March, 1875. He vies for this record with Charles Reid

Charles Reid

Charles Reid, nicknamed Hippo, was a Scottish international rugby players. He was capped twenty times for between 1881-88. Reid vies with Ninian Finlay for the title of the youngest player ever to be capped for - he was seventeen years and thirty six days old when he was capped against on 19...

, who was the same age when capped - however, Reid had lived through an extra leap year day, when he was capped in 1881.

Finlay attended Edinburgh Academy

Edinburgh Academy

The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...

, which he was attending when capped. He later played for Edinburgh Academicals RFC

Edinburgh Academicals RFC

The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies or Edinburgh Acads, is a rugby union football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club was formed in 1857 and is the oldest rugby club in Scotland, the second oldest club in continuous existence in the world behind Dublin...

, and Edinburgh University RFC

Edinburgh University RFC

Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland which currently plays its fixtures in the top Scottish National League and the British Universities Premiership. It is one of the eight founder members of the Scottish Rugby Union...

.

The first historian of Scottish rugby, R.J. Phillips, says of Ninian Finlay, "there never was such glamour and reputation attached to any Scottish player till A.R. Don Wauchope

Andrew Ramsay Don-Wauchope

Andrew Ramsay "Bunny" Don-Wauchope was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Fettesian-Lorettonian. Don Wauchope played an important role within the early growth of Scottish rugby and after retiring from international rugby he became a referee and was...

 reached the zenith of his powers."

In later life he was a Writer to the Signet.

Family

Ninian was the brother of James Finlay

James Finlay

James F. Finlay was a Scottish rugby union player.He was capped four times for between 1871–75, including the first ever international. He also played for Edinburgh Academicals....

, who was capped four times for Scotland (1871-75), Arthur Finlay

Arthur Finlay

Arthur Finlay was a Scottish rugby union player.He was capped once for in 1875. He also played for Edinburgh Academicals.He was the brother of James Finlay and Ninian Finlay who were also capped for Scotland, James in the first ever international...

, who received a single cap (1875), and Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay

Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay

Robert Bannatyne Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay GCMG, PC, QC,MD was a British lawyer, doctor and politician who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...

.

In the 1875, 0-0 draw with at Raeburn Place

Raeburn Place

Raeburn Place is the main street of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, and the name of the playing fields there.-Rugby:The first international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 March 1871 between England and Scotland. It was won by Scotland, though England got revenge...

, all three brothers played, with James winning his last cap, and Arthur and Ninian winning their first:

"Ninian was still a schoolboy, but was such an incredibly powerful runner, and sublime drop-kicker that he became the first real superstar of Scottish rugby."