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THE HISTORY OF LORETTO RUGBY

Rugby was introduced to Loretto by HH Almond who became Headmaster in 1862. Unofficial games were organised from an early date with Loretto regularly having to borrow players to make up the twenty man side of the day. Against the Edinburgh Academy, Loretto once played with eleven men. Almond believed in exercise each day no matter what the weather and he was akeen coach. As early as the 1880s he encouraged the boys to pass the ball to baffle the opposition. The boys did not do that as the trend was to run until collared and then get hacked off the ball. Almond was accused of funking by his fellow Headmasters but it was here at Loretto that the running and passing game developed.

1867 saw the first official match versus Merchiston with a loss by three goals and five tries to a goal. Almond kicked the goal! In 1879 fixtures against the Edinburgh Academy and Fettes were officially organised. Almond's interest in the game extended beyond the School and he umpired (refereed) the first Scotland-England match which was played at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh.
1880-1903 could be described as the Golden Age of Loretto rugby. In the autumn of 1880 six Lorettonians were at Oxford, five of them gaining their blues against Cambridge. In 1881 and 1882 four Lorettonians were in the team, in 1883 there were five, but in 1884 no fewer than seven played in the Blues Match. This is still the record for the most players from one school in the Oxford XV. Five went on to play for Scotland and HB Tristram for England.

Tristram was to suceed Almond as Headmaster. Loretto had taken over from the dominance of Rugby and Marlborough. During this period the results were outstanding. Out of the fifty-three matches played, one was lost and three were drawn. People in the south could not believe it. What is this school called Loretto which could produce so many footballers?. They were even more surprised to discover it was a small school of one hundred boys in remote Scotland. Schools adopted Almond's ideas due to this publicity. Under Lorettonian influence the Oxford XV had abandoned knickerbockers for shorts albeit of inordinate length.

This era could not last and in 1888 no Lorettonian was in the side although PH Morrison kept the flag flying at Cambridge with the second of his four performances for that university. The School then gained its second wind which in some ways was more impressive due to the stiffer competition from many more schools. Over the next fifteen years, fifteen Lorettonians played, most of them more than once, until it was said that anyone appearing at Oxford in a red jersey was automatically given a trial. Cambridge too was producing seven more Blues for Loretto. Over the twenty-eight year span 1879-1907 the Varsity Match was never played without a Lorettonian on the field; in eleven of these years there were at least four of them playing.
The culmination came in 1900 when the rival captains, Swanston for Oxford and Greenlees for Cambridge were both Old Lorettonians. Thus was founded Loretto's reputation as a great rugby school.

In 1881 the Fettesian-Lorettonian Club was formed. This was principally a rugby club that toured once a year. A fully representative team included a back line of only internationalists and in 1886 two Scottish half-backs failed to make the team. The team chosen for the English Tour of 1886-88 included twelve internationalists. Always playing against quality sides such as Rosslyn Park and Richmond, Fet-Lor Tours continued until 1974.

HB Tristram became Headmaster in 1903. He has captained the Oxford XV and had been an internationalist, as was his successor AR Smith who was one of the first attacking full backs in the game. One might have expected from these talented Headmasters that the School would excel but in fact it was going through one of its leanest spells. It soon picked up again and during World War 1, only one out of fourteen matches was lost. One boy, JC Dykes (1917-19) never reached the First XV but gained twenty international caps between 1922 and 1929.

AR Smith was succeeded by JRC Greenlees whose best year was six wins, a loss and a draw. His great sadness was he never saw Loretto beat Sedbergh. However, he would have been proud to witness the centenary of the Loretto-Sedbergh fixture played at Newfield in November 1989. The scoreline of 15-20 (to Sedbergh) reflects the quality of the match and the post-match celebrations, with guest speaker John Spencer (OS), capped a splendid weekend of festivities.

DF Mackintosh took over as Headmaster in 1945 and was the first Head since Almond not to have played international rugby. RB Bruce-Lockhart - an internationalist - took over in 1960. In the post-War era results were modest but with the occasional exceptional year such as 1973-74 when The XV won fourteen matches losing only to Fettes who were coached by DB McMurray who became Headmaster in 1976. In this period one man - AB Carmichael - stands out. He played in The XV for two seasons and was captain in 1961-62. In 1967 he played hi first international match for Scotland and went on to play in every international for eleven years thereby creating a then record of fifty international caps. He played for the British Lions and The Barbarians and was awarded the MBE for services to rugby football.

Loretto is proud of its rugby pedigree and its direct links with the game remain. The current Headmaster KJ Budge is a triple blue from Oxford and the game still thrives today at Loretto. This article has concentrated on the First XV but it must be noted that Loretto regularly fields ten XVs - a notable ratio for a School of this size.

JM Elder - Head of History, LSM
Extra material by HM MacLean - First XV Coach

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RESULTS OF INTER-SCHOOL MATCHES

DOLLAR ACADEMY

Date of first fixture: 1947
1947 to 1963: Played 9; Won 8; Lost 1; Drawn 0
1964 to 1986: Played 16; Won 8; Lost 6; Drawn 2
1987 to 1996: Played 8; Won 4; Lost 4; drawn 0
1997: Won 46-23



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EDINBURGH ACADEMY

Date of first fixture: 1879
1879 to 1963: Played 144; Won 80; Lost 48; Drawn 16
1964 to 1986: Played 33; Won 12; Lost 20; Drawn 1
1987 to 1996: Played 10; Won 5; Lost 4; Drawn 1
1997: Lost 11-27



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FETTES

Date of first fixture: 1873
1873 to 1963: Played 157; Won 59; Lost 81; Drawn 17
1964 to 1986: Played 25; Won 6; Lost 15; Drawn 4
1987 to 1996: Played 7; Won 7; Lost 0; Drawn 0
1997: Won 27-0



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GLASGOW ACADEMY

Date of first fixture: 1947
1947 to 1963: Played 16; Won 14; Lost 1; Drawn 1
1964 to 1986: Played 23; Won 18; Lost 3; Drawn 2
1987 to 1996: Played 9; Won 8; Lost 1; Drawn 0
1997: cancelled



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GLENALMOND

Date of first fixture: 1885
1885 to 1963: Played 58; Won 44; Lost 10; Drawn 4
1964 to 1986: Played 23; Won 7; Lost 15; Drawn 1
1987 to 1996: Played 10; Won 6; Lost 4; Drawn 0
1997: Lost 5-29



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GEORGE HERIOT'S SCHOOL

Date of first fixture: 1963
1963 to 1986: Played 22; Won 8; Lost 14; Drawn 0
1987 to 1996: Played 10; Won 7; Lost 2; Drawn 1
1997: Won 14-10



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MERCHISTON

Date of fir