Scottish Rugby 'immensely saddened' following death of Scotland and Lions great Dougie Morgan
Scottish Rugby have stated that they are immensely saddened to learn of the death in hospital in Edinburgh last night of former Scotland scrum-half, captain, coach and manager, Dougie Morgan.
He was 73 and had been ill for some time.
In addition to being capped 21 times for Scotland between 1973 and 1978, Morgan also played two Test matches for the British & Irish Lions on their 1977 tour of New Zealand.
Speaking to Scottish Rugby, McGeechan, who played and coached with Morgan over some 40 years, said: “Dougie was a team-mate who became a very good friend during an association with Scottish rugby which covered four decades.
“He was hugely competitive and a talented sportsman – he put up with me on the golf course, an experience which showed his patience and calmness, attributes which made him a perfect manager in later years.
“Dougie had a deep understanding of the game and was tactically very aware. I will never forget him standing on Gareth Edwards’ foot to distract him whilst trying to put the ball into the scrum, an approach which stopped Wales playing and we ultimately won the game. He was also a natural goal kicker.
“He was a great room-mate and always had a mug of tea waiting by the bedside in a morning. He unselfishly helped and supported others. He was also supremely organised, and I often used him as a sounding board when coaching.
“His support was never better than with Jim Telfer, Derek Grant and myself we had a coaching group which shared ideas, particularly in the build up to the Rugby World Cup in 1991.
“On and off the field he was a great friend and companion. I have memories I will always cherish and be very thankful for knowing Dougie.”
Richie Dixon, who coached with Morgan at Scotland under-21, Scotland B and the senior national team and who succeeded Morgan as head coach in 1996, said: “Dougie was a very committed guy. As a player, he was very astute and combative and very much a natural leader and his record for Scotland and the Lions speaks for itself.
“He was very loyal to the rugby family and, most of all, his own family.
“As a coach, he was very much a thinker. I enjoyed working with him. He was just hellbent on making things good. He will be sadly missed.”
The club is deeply saddened to learn of the death of former Edinburgh District and Scotland scrum-half, Dougie Morgan.
A true champion of rugby in the city, our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/05azffnGuh
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) April 5, 2020
Morgan then moved into team management, fulfilling that role with Scotland 7s, Scotland A – including their 1998 Grand Slam – and the senior Scotland team in 2000, bowing out after the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, where Scotland, again, had reached the quarter-finals.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: “I was really saddened to hear that Dougie has passed away. He was a great servant to Scottish rugby, first and foremost as a terrific player and captain of the national side.
“He went on to have success as a coach and in 1995 we came very close to winning a Grand Slam and a few months later his Scotland team were only seconds away from topping their pool in the World Cup until France scored deep into injury time.
“Dougie was a hugely popular figure in his time as manager of the national team, someone who enjoyed having a laugh with the players, although he kept his natural competitive instinct whenever we took him on at pool or on the golf course. He has contributed a huge amount to Scottish rugby and he’ll be sorely missed.”
Heriot’s Rugby Club is saddened to learn of the passing of Dougie Morgan of @StewMelRugby1.
Read our full statement below:https://t.co/TumO0vEqZw
— Heriot's Rugby Club (@HeriotsRugby) April 5, 2020
Douglas Waugh Morgan was born in Edinburgh on 9 March 1947 and gave a lifetime of dedicated service to the game.
At a time where international rugby had some world-class scrum-halves, Morgan, the fiercest of competitors, frequently outshone those with a stellar reputation.
Arguably two of his finest performances in a Scotland jersey came in the Murrayfield victories over Wales in 1973 and 1975.
In the former, his debut, the Melville College scrum-half was hailed for his persistent disruption of Gareth Edwards – who had already helped the Lions to a Test series victory in New Zealand – which put the Welsh genius off his game and was pivotal in Scotland’s 10-9 victory.
Then, two years later, in a match which drew a then world-record crowd of 104,000 to Murrayfield, Morgan’s three penalties, in addition to his continuing shackling of Edwards, was once again hugely significant in a 12-10 margin.
On the 1977 Lions tour to New Zealand, Morgan scored all the Lions points, including a try, in the narrow 9-10 loss at Eden Park.
The following year, he was appointed Scotland captain and led the team for the first time at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, where his fellow Lion, tight-head prop, Sandy Carmichael became the first Scot to reach the milestone of 50 caps.
Deep into injury time in that game, Scotland were trailing 9-12 and were awarded a decidedly kickable penalty, which would have earned them a draw. Morgan, underlining that, for him, winning was the only currency in international rugby, opted to run the ball but the move broke down and Ireland held out. He had, however, again demonstrated the courage of his own conviction.
The 1978 championship was a tale of narrow defeats for Scotland – except for a 0-15 loss to England in the Calcutta Cup, which turned out to be Morgan’s final cap, having garnered 71 points for Scotland in his Test career.
He continued to play club rugby for another six years and helped Stewart’s-Melville – the club spawned from the merger of the FP clubs of Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College – to some terrific achievements, not least winning Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham in 1982, where he converted 11 of their 12 tries.
Morgan soon moved into coaching and he progressed up the ladder from the Edinburgh District side eventually becoming Scotland head coach in the 1993-94 season. Before that, he had supported Sir Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer as Scotland won the 1990 Grand Slam and reached the semi-finals of the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
During his tenure as head coach, Scotland reached the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in South Africa and posted their first victory over France in Paris in 26 years.
In his “day job”, Morgan was a chiropodist at the Jenner’s department store in Edinburgh.
He took great pride in his family and spoke warmly of the rugby skills of son-in-law Graham Shiel, the Melrose midfielder, who went on to win 18 caps for Scotland, and his grand-son, Charlie Shiel, the Edinburgh Rugby scrum-half.
Scottish Rugby extended its sincere condolences to Dougie’s wife Doreen and all his family and many friends.
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope WRU cops a 12 month ban.
1 Go to commentsOuch. Pumped. Even Nohamba is a better flyhalf than Ford.
2 Go to commentsI hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
2 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
30 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
27 Go to comments