This is a list of international rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 players who died serving in armed forces during the First World War. Most of these came from the British Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

, but a number of French international rugby

France national rugby union team

The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

 players were also killed. It should also be noted that a number of major teams, whose nations were belligerents in World War I such as , , , , and had not made their international debuts at this point in time, and the team had only been in existence for around two years prior to the war.
Also, none of the Central Powers

Central Powers

The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

 had true national rugby squads at this point although there had been rugby clubs in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 since the late 19th century, and the German Rugby Federation is the oldest national rugby union in continental Europe. However, Germany did put forward a team for rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Rugby union was played at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Matches were held on 14 October and 28 October. 47 athletes from three nations competed....

 (although not the 1908 tournament

Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Rugby union was played at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Matches were held on 14 October and 28 October. 47 athletes from three nations competed....

, which involved only two sides) – Olympic rugby was not seen as particularly prestigious – and it is not known if any of that team were war casualties.

The war took an extremely heavy toll upon rugby at all levels, and this list includes some major figures, such as Dave Gallaher

Dave Gallaher

David "Dave" Gallaher was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks....

, who led a major All Blacks tour to the British Isles in 1905,; David Bedell-Sivright

David Bedell-Sivright

David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

, who is sometimes considered one of the greatest Scottish

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

 players of all time; and Ronnie Poulton-Palmer who is similarly honoured by the English; and the Frenchman Jean Bouin

Jean Bouin

Jean Bouin was a French athlete and rugby union footballer. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....

, better known as a middle distance runner at the 1908 Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

 as well as the 1912 Games

1912 Summer Olympics

The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...

.

The first rugby international to die in World War I was the and London Scottish player, Ronald Simson

Ronald Simson

Ronald Francis Simson, was a Scottish rugby union player for . Simson was the first rugby international - of any nationality - to die in the war...

, on 14 September 1914. He was a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the British Royal Field Artillery

Royal Field Artillery

The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....

, at the First Battle of the Aisne

First Battle of the Aisne

The First Battle of the Aisne was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army & Second Army as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne earlier in September 1914...

, which was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army

German First Army

-First World War:The 1st Army during World War I, fought on the Western Front and took part in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against France and Belgium in August 1914. Commanded by General Alexander von Kluck, the 1st Army's job was to command the extreme right of the German forces in attacking...

 (led by Alexander von Kluck

Alexander von Kluck

Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck was a German general during World War I.- Military career :He enlisted in the Prussian army in time to serve in the seven-week Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War, where he was wounded twice in the Battle of Colombey-Neuilly...

) & Second Army

German Second Army

The 2nd Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-First World War:The 2nd Army during World War I, fought on the Western Front and took part in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against France and Belgium in August 1914...

 (led by Karl von Bülow

Karl von Bülow

Karl von Bülow was a German Field Marshal commanding the German 2nd Army during World War I from 1914 to 1915.-Biography:...

) as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne

First Battle of the Marne

The Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...

 earlier in September 1914.

Although many rugby players were killed during the war, a large number were also injured or crippled, leading to their departure from the game. For example, the and British Isles

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

 player Tom Richards had his back and shoulders damaged by a bomb blast and suffered respiratory problems the rest of his life, from gas attacks he had experienced on the Western Front, leading to his death from TB in 1935.

• Harold Wesley George
  Harold Wesley George
  Harold Wesley George was an Australian representative rugby union prop forward who saw active service and fell in World War I.-Rugby career:...
  
  , died on 10 May 1915, Aged 28.
• Bryan Desmond Hughes MC, died on 6 August 1918, Aged 32
• Hubert A Jones
  Hubert Jones (rugby)
  Hubert A. Jones was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Jones, a centre, claimed a total of 3 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
  
  , died on 9 July 1918, Aged 28.
• Edward Larkin
  Edward Larkin
  Edward Rennix "Teddy" Larkin was an Australian parliamentarian and a national representative rugby union player who saw service in World War I and was killed in action on the first day of the Gallipoli Campaign. He was one of only two serving members of any Australian parliament to fall in World...
  
  , died on 25 April 1915, Aged 34
• Blair Swannell
  Blair Swannell
  Major Blair Inskip Swannell was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Northampton...
  
  , 25 April 1915, Aged 39
• William Tasker
  William Tasker
  William George Tasker was an Australian World War I soldier who had been a national representative rugby union player making six Test appearances for the Wallabies.-Early life:...
  
  , died on 9 August 1918, Aged 26.
• Fred Thompson
  Fred Thompson (rugby)
  Frederick H. Thompson was an Australian national representative rugby union player and soldier who fell in the Great War.Born in Maroubra, New South Wales to Henry and Dorothy Thompson, Fred Thompson played at number eight with the Eastern Suburbs RUFC. His international debut was made during the...
  
  , killed in action on 29 May 1915, Aged 25.
• Jack Verge
  Jack Verge
  Cuthbert Arthur "Jack" Verge was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Verge, a fullback, was born in Kempsey, New South Wales and claimed a total of 2 international rugby caps for Australia. His debut game was against Great Britain, at Sydney, on 2 July 1904.-References:...
  
  , died on 8 September 1915, Aged 35.
• Clarrie Wallach
  Clarrie Wallach
  Clarrie "Doss" Wallach MC was an Australian representative rugby union forward and decorated World War I military officer. He fought at Gallipoli and in France and died on the Western Front...
  
   MC, died on 22 April 1918, Aged 28.

One of the most poignant stories is of Ronnie Poulton-Palmer, who had played against the South African tourists of 1912–13 only a few years before:

"Those who watched [Ronnie Poulton] play were certain that he was the greatest three-quarter ever to play the game and they held to that opinion all their lives...

"Poulton later inherited a fortune on condition that he changed his name to Poulton-Palmer; sadly he did not live to enjoy it, being killed by a sniper's bullet in the Great War. His last words before he died were: 'I shall never play at Twickenham again.'"

England had over twenty six players killed in the conflict. This was the second highest number of casualties, after . However, many of the Scotland players were "Anglos", i.e. based, born or playing in the England's domestic leagues for teams such as London Scottish FC or universities, so their loss affected English rugby too.

Henry Brougham is sometimes listed, because he died of war wounds. However, since he died in 1923, after the war had ended, he is also often omitted.

• Harry Alexander
  Harry Alexander (rugby footballer)
  Harry Alexander was a rugby union international who represented England from 1900 to 1902. He also captained his country.-Rugby union career:...
  
  ; died on 17 October 1915 Aged 35
• Henry Berry; died on 9 May 1915, Aged 32.
• Arthur James Dingle; died on 22 August 1915, Aged 23
• George Eric Burroughs Dobbs, died on 17 June 1917, Aged 32.
• Leonard Haigh, died on 6 August 1916 Aged 29.
• Reginald Harry Myburgh Hands
  Reginald Hands
  Reginald Harry Myburgh Hands was born in Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa and died in France as a result of injuries sustained on the Western Front during the first Great War, aged just 29. He was a South African cricketer who played in one Test match in February 1914...
  
  , ("Reggie Hands") died on 20 April 1918, Aged 29 Hands was a South African who played cricket for South Africa and rugby for England.
• Arthur Leyland Harrison
  Arthur Leyland Harrison
  Lieutenant-Commander Arthur Leyland Harrison VC was an English Royal Navy officer, and World War I recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Harrison was born in Torquay,...
  
   VC; died on 23 April 1918, Aged 32
• Harold Augustus Hodges; died on 24 March 1918, Aged 32 14
• Rupert Edward Inglis; died on 18 September 1916, Aged 53
• Percy Dale Kendall; died on 21 January 1915, Aged 34
• John Abbott King; died on 9 August 1916, Aged 32
• Ronald Owen Lagden
  Ronald Lagden
  Ronald Owen Lagden was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and represented England at rugby union.-Family:...
  
  ; died on 3 March 1915, Aged 26
• Douglas Lambert; died on 13 October 1915, Aged 32
• Alfred Frederick Maynard; died on 13 November 1916, Aged 22
• Edgar Roberts Mobb
  Edgar Mobbs
  Edgar Roberts "Mobbsy" Mobbs DSO was an English rugby union footballer who played for and captained Northampton R.F.C. and England. He played as a three quarter....
  
  , ("Mobbsy") died on 29 July 1917, Aged 37 16
• William Moore Bell Nanson; died on 4 June 1915, Aged 34
• Francis Eckley Oakeley; died on 25 November 1914, Aged 23
• Robert Lawrence Pillman; died on 9 July 1916, Aged 23 17
• Ronald William Poulton-Palmer
  Ronald Poulton-Palmer
  Ronald William Poulton was an English rugby union footballer, who captained and was killed in The First World War....
  
  , ("Ronnie Poulton") died on 5 May 1915, Aged 25
• John Edward Raphael
  John Raphael (sportsman)
  John Edward Raphael was a Belgian born English sportsman who was capped nine times for England at rugby union and played first-class cricket with Surrey.-Biography:...
  
  , died on 11 June 1917, Aged 35
• Reginald Oscar Schwarz
  Reggie Schwarz
  Major Reginald Oscar Schwarz MC, known as Reggie was a South African cricketer and international rugby union footballer.-Early life:...
  
   MC, ("Reggie Schwarz") died on 18 November 1918, Aged 43
• Lancelot Andrew Noel Slocock; died on 9 August 1918, Aged 29
• Francis Nathaniel Tarr; died on 18 July 1915, Aged 27
• Alexander Findlater Todd
  Alexander Todd (rugby player)
  Alexander Findlater Todd was an English rugby union forward who played for Cambridge University and Blackheath F.C. at club level, and Kent at county level...
  
  , died on 21 April 1915, Aged 41
• James Henry Digby Watson; died on 15 October 1914, Aged 24.
• Charles Edward Wilson
  Charles Edward Wilson
  Charles Edward Wilson was an England rugby international and British Army officer who was killed during the First World War....
  
  
• Arthur James Wilson, died on 1 July 1917, Aged 29

France is different from all the other nations mentioned on this list for two reasons – firstly, it was not part of the British Commonwealth nor English speaking, and secondly, unlike the other nations, it actually had a military front in its border territory.

Maurice Boyau

Maurice Boyau

Maurice Jean-Paul Boyau was a French rugby union player and a leading French ace of the First World War with 35 victories, and one of the most successful balloon busters...

 particularly distinguished himself as a balloon buster

Balloon buster

Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness. Seventy-six fighter pilots in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces....

 and military flying ace, with 35 victories under his belt. He spent much of his flying career with Escadrille 77, known as "Les Sportifs" for the great number of athletes in its ranks. He had been captain of the French team before the war.

Stade Bordelais

Stade Bordelais

Stade Bordelais are a French rugby union club, based in Bordeaux.The club was established in 1889. Bordelais were a major force in the French championship during the 1900s...

 of Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 was badly affected, losing players such as Boyau and Giacardy.

• Marie Jean-Baptiste Joseph Anduran
  Joé Anduran
  Marie Jean-Baptiste Joseph Anduran, better known as Joé Anduran or Joe Anduran, was a French rugby union player. He was born on 24 April 1882 in Bayonne, and died at Bois-Bernard in the Pas-de-Calais on 2 October 1914, during the First World War....
  
   ("Joé Anduran"); died on 2 October 1914, Aged 32
• René Emile Henri Boudreaux
  René Boudreaux
  René Emile Henri Boudreaux was a French rugby union player.Boudreaux was born in Paris and played as a prop forward for Sporting Club Universitaire de France. He was twice capped for the French national team in the 1910 Five Nations Championship...
  
  ; died on 8 September 1915, Aged 34.
• Maurice Jean-Paul Boyau
  Maurice Boyau
  Maurice Jean-Paul Boyau was a French rugby union player and a leading French ace of the First World War with 35 victories, and one of the most successful balloon busters...
  
   (Medaille Militaire
  Médaille militaire
  The Médaille militaire is a decoration of the French Republic which was first instituted in 1852.-History:The creator of the médaille was the emperor Napoléon III, who may have taken his inspiration in a medal issued by his father, Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland...
  
  , Legion d'Honneur
  Légion d'honneur
  The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
  
  ); died on 16 September 1918, Aged 30
• Jean Bouin
  Jean Bouin
  Jean Bouin was a French athlete and rugby union footballer. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....
  
  ; died on 30 June 1915 (probable), aged 24.
• Marcel Henry Burgun
  Marcel Burgun
  Marcel Henry Burgun was a French rugby union player. He was born on 30 January 1890, in St Petersburg, Russia and died on 2 September 1916 during the First World War...
  
  ; died on 2 September 1916, Aged 26.
• Jean Jacques Conilh de Beyssac ; died on 13 June 1918, Aged 28.
• Paul Henri Descamps; died on 27 June 1915, Aged 31.
• Julien Dufau; died on December 1916, Aged 28.
• Paul Dupré; died on 15 May 1915, Aged 27.
• Albert Eutrope; died on 26 May 1915, Aged 27.
• Marc Giacardy
  Marc Giacardy
  Marc Giacardy was a French rugby union player. He was 1 m 75 tall and weighed 73 kg...
  
  ; died on 20 August 1917, Aged 26
• Aimé Giral; died on 22 July 1915, Aged 29.
• Pierre Guillemin
  Pierre Guillemin
  Pierre Guillemin was a French rugby union player.He was 1 m 88 tall and weighed 81 kg. He played loosehead prop for...
  
  ; died on 9 October 1915, Aged 20
• Maurice Hedembaigt; died on 5 August 1918, Aged 37.
• Emmanuel Iguinitz; died on 20 September 1914, Aged 24
• Daniel Ihingoué; died on 16 April 1917, Aged 28
• Henri Isaac; died on 20 June 1917 Aged 34
• Henri André Lacassagne
  Henri Lacassagne
  Henri André Lacassagne was a French rugby union player. He played at scrum half for Stade Bordelais. He was capped twice for .-Career:Henri Lacassagne's first test was on 1 January 1906, against ....
  
  ; died on 11 November 1916, Aged 19
• Gaston Lane
  Gaston Lane
  Gaston Lane was a French rugby union player. He was 1 m 68 cm tall and weighed 68 kg.He played right wing three quarter for Racing club de France and for the French national team; at first he also played for AS Bois-Colombes then for the Paris Cosmopolitan Club.He played in the first...
  
  ; died on 23 September 1914, Aged 31
• Jean Larribau
  Jean Larribau
  Jean Larribau was a French rugby union player. He died in World War I. He was 1 m 60 tall and weighed 72 kg...
  
  ; died on 31 December 1916, Aged 27
• Marcel Legrain
  Marcel Legrain
  Marcel Legrain was a French rugby union player, who died in World War I. He was 1 m 80 tall and weighed 80 kg, and played at second row and then, having played second line, and then third line in the national selection, and at the Stade Français.-Highlights :* 12 caps for France from...
  
  ; died on 27 June 1915, Aged 21.
• Alfred Mayssonnié
  Alfred Mayssonnié
  Alfred Mayssonnié was a French rugby union player, born in Toulouse on the 10th of February. 1884, he plyaed as scrum-half and fly-half and he was the strategist of the team Red Lady...
  
   ("Maysso"); died on 6 September 1914, Aged 30.
• François Poeydebasque; died on 21 December 1914, Aged 23
• Théodore Varvier
  Théodore Varvier
  Théodore Varvier was a French rugby union player, who played for the France national rugby union team.-International:...
  
  ; died possibly 1913, pre World War I. Aged 29

Great Britain

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

British Isles team

Pre-World War I, it was not uncommon for members of the British Isles team (later known as the British and Irish 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...

) to be uncapped for their nation of origin. This never happens now.

• Charlie Adamson
  Charlie Adamson
  Charles "Charlie" Young Adamson was an English international rugby union utility back who played club rugby for Durham. Adamson played international rugby for the British Isles team on its 1899 tour of Australia...
  
   (English), died on 17 September 1918, Aged 43.
• Sidney Nelson Crowther
  Sidney Nelson Crowther
  Sidney Crowther was a rugby union international who represented Great Britain on the 1904 tour to Australia and New Zealand.-Early life:...
  
   (English), died on 18 October 1914, Aged 39
• Noel Forbes Humphreys
  Noel Forbes Humphreys
  Noel Forbes Humphreys was a Welsh rugby union international who was part of the first official British and Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1910. He was killed in action in the First World War.-Early life:...
  
   MC (Welsh), died 27 March 1918, Aged 27

Most British Isles players had been capped for their country, and can be found listed more fully under their respective countries. Capped players include the following.

Blair Swannell

Blair Swannell

Major Blair Inskip Swannell was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Northampton...

: John Raphael

John Raphael (sportsman)

John Edward Raphael was a Belgian born English sportsman who was capped nine times for England at rugby union and played first-class cricket with Surrey.-Biography:...

, Alexander Todd

Alexander Todd (rugby player)

Alexander Findlater Todd was an English rugby union forward who played for Cambridge University and Blackheath F.C. at club level, and Kent at county level...

: David Bedell-Sivright

David Bedell-Sivright

David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

, Eric Milroy

Eric Milroy

Eric "Puss" MacLeod Milroy was a Scottish rugby union player who played club rugby for Watsonians and international rugby for ....

: Phil Waller

Phil Waller

Phil Waller was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Johannesburg. He won six caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa....

Olympians

At least one competitor for the Great Britain Olympic team which competed at rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The event was summarised under the "Football" heading along with association football. The host Great Britain was represented by Cornwall, the 1908 county champion...

, and gained silver died –

• Arthur Wilson, died July 1, 1917 (see also England)

Scotland and Ireland did not put teams up for either the 1900 or 1908 Olympic rugby events, and most of the players were from England, and in particular Cornwall.

Ireland, unlike other parts of the UK and much of the British Commonwealth did not have conscription during the war, although there was a disastrous attempt in 1918 to impose it. See also Ireland and World War I

Ireland and World War I

During World War I , Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which entered the war in August 1914 as one of the Entente Powers, along with France and Russia, when it declared war to halt the military expansion of the Central Powers, consisting of the German Empire, the...

.

• Jasper Brett
  Jasper Brett
  Jasper Thomas Brett was an Irish rugby international. He won one cap against Wales in 1914.-See also:* List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War-References:* at Scrum.com*...
  
  , died on 4 February 1917, Aged 21
• Robert Balderstone Burgess, died on 9 December 1915, Aged 25.
• Ernest Deane
  Ernest Deane
  Ernest Cotton Deane was an Irish rugby international. He won one cap against England in 1909.Like fellow international Basil Maclear, Deane was killed in action during the First World War, serving as a captain with the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached to the Leicestershire Regiment near Laventie...
  
   MC, died on 25 September 1915, Aged 28.
• William Victor Edwards, died on 29 December 1917, Aged 30
• Basil Maclear
  Basil Maclear
  Basil Maclear was an Irish rugby international. He won eleven caps between 1905 and 1907.The son of a doctor from Bedford, he was later sent to Fermoy in County Cork by the British Army....
  
  , died on 24 May 1915, Aged 34.
• Vincent McNamara, died on 29 November 1915, Aged 24
• Albert Lewis Stewart DSO, died on 4 October 1917, Aged 28.
• Alfred Squire Taylor, died on 31 July 1917, Aged 29

• James Alexander Steenson Baird ("Jim Baird"), died on 7 June 1917, Aged 23.
• Robert Stanley Black ("Bobby Black"), died on 21 September 1917, Aged 23
• Henry Dewar ("Norkey Dewar"), died on 19 August 1915, Aged 33.
• Ernest Henry Dodd ("Ernie Dodd"), died on 11 September 1918 aged 38
• Albert Joseph Downing ("Doolan Downing"), died on 8 August 1915 aged 28.
• David Gallaher
  Dave Gallaher
  David "Dave" Gallaher was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks....
  
   ("Dave Gallaher"), died on 4 October 1917, Aged 41.
• Eric Tristram Harper
  Eric Harper
  Eric Tristram Harper was a New Zealand sportsman, who is most notable for playing rugby union for the New Zealand national rugby union team and in 1905 became one of the Original All Blacks when he toured Britain and Ireland with Dave Gallaher's team.A keen athlete, Harper was a hurdler at...
  
  , died on 30 April 1918, Aged 40.
• Autini Pitara Kaipara, died 4 August 1917 aged 30
• James McNeece ("Jim McNeece"), died on 21 June 1917, Aged 31
• Alexander James Ridland ("Jimmy Ridland"), died on 5 November 1918, Aged 36
• George Maurice Victor Sellars, died on 7 June 1917, Aged 31
• Reginald Taylor ("Reg Taylor"), died on 20 June 1917, Aged 28
• Hubert Sydney Turtill
  Hubert Turtill
  "Jum" Hurbert Sydney Turtill was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.-Early years:...
  
   ("Jum" Turtill), died on 9 April 1918, Aged 38
• Frank Reginald Wilson, Died on 19 September 1916, Aged 31

According to Allan Massie

Allan Massie

Allan Massie is a well-known Scottish journalist, sports writer and novelist.-Early life:Born in 1938 in Singapore, where his father was a rubber planter for Sime Darby, Massie spent his childhood in Aberdeenshire...

, "Scotland had suffered more severely than any of the Home Countries from the slaughter of the war. Thirty capped players were lost (twenty six English internationalists were killed)."

While some of these players were clearly retired, such as 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 had been capped in the 1870s and 1880s), others such as Frederick Harding Turner

Frederick Harding Turner

Frederick Harding Turner was a rugby union player. He was killed in World War I in the trenches near Kemmel on 10 January 1915 in a trench occupied by his platoon of the Liverpool Scottish when overseeing the organisation of a barbed wire entanglement.He played for Oxford University RFC, and...

, James Huggan

James Huggan

James Laidlaw Huggan was a rugby union player. He was killed in World War I at the First Battle of the Aisne...

 and John George Will

John George Will

John George Will was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I an air battle over Arras.He played for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for in 1912-14....

 had played in the last match before the war, the Calcutta Cup

Calcutta Cup

The Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently England's since the 2009 Six Nations Championship....

 match in March, 1914, and so had their playing careers prematurely ended. Walter Sutherland

Walter Sutherland

Walter Riddell Sutherland , also known as Wattie Suddie from Hawick was a Scottish rugby union footballer who gained 13 caps playing for the Scotland national rugby union team between 1910 and 1914 and was regarded as the best Scottish wing threequarter of his day...

 was also considered one of Hawick RFC

Hawick RFC

Hawick Rugby Football Club is a semi-professional rugby union side, currently playing in the Premiership Division One and Border League. The team are based at Mansfield Park at Hawick in the Scottish Borders....

's greatest players, and was still remembered fondly as "Wattie Suddie" in Bill McLaren

Bill McLaren

William Pollock "Bill" McLaren CBE was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Until his retirement in 2002, he was known as 'the voice of rugby'...

's playing days. Few surviving Scots were capped before and after the war – Charlie Usher

Charlie Usher

Charles "Charlie" Milne Usher was a Scottish rugby union player, who played at number eight, and also captained...

, Jock Wemyss

Jock Wemyss

Andrew "Jock" Wemyss was a Scottish rugby union player, who played at prop. Wemyss lost one of his eyes in World War I, but continued to play after the war ....

 and Alex Angus

Alex Angus

Alexander "Alex" W. Angus was a Scottish international rugby union and cricket player.He was capped twice for between 1909-20. He also played for Watsonians....

 are some of the exceptions. Charlie Usher spent much of the war in a POW camp.

• Cecil Halliday Abercrombie
  Cecil Abercrombie
  Cecil Halliday Abercrombie was a Scottish rugby union player and an English first-class cricketer.-Biography:Born on 12 April 1886 in Mozufferpore, India...
  
  , died on 31 May 1916 Aged 30
• David McLaren Bain
  David McLaren Bain
  David McLaren Bain was a rugby union player. He was killed in France in World War I, while serving with the Gordon Highlanders.He played for Oxford University RFC and was capped for in 1911-14...
  
  , died on 3 June 1915, Aged 24
• David Bedell-Sivright
  David Bedell-Sivright
  David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...
  
   ("Darkie Bedell-Sivright"), died on 5 September 1915, Aged 35
• Patrick Charles Bentley Blair, died on 6 July 1915 Aged 24.
• John Argentine Campbell
  John Argentine Campbell
  John Argentine Campbell was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for West of Scotland FC and was capped for in .-References:...
  
  , died on 1 December 1917, Aged 40.
• William Campbell Church
  William Campbell Church
  William Campbell Church was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I, while serving with the CameroniansHe played for Glasgow Academicals and was capped for in 1906.-References:...
  
  , died on 28 June 1915, Aged 32.
• Walter Michael Dickson
  Walter Michael Dickson
  Walter Michael Dickson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Oxford University RFC and Blackheath FC and was capped for in 1912-13.-References:...
  
  , died on 26 September 1915, Aged 30.
• John Henry Dods, died on 31 December 1915, Aged 40
• Walter Torrie Forrest
  Walter Torrie Forrest
  Major Walter Torrie Forrest was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I -References:* Bath, Richard The Scotland Rugby Miscellany...
  
  , died on 19 April 1917, Aged 36
• Rowland Fraser
  Rowland Fraser
  Rowland Fraser was a rugby union player. He was killed in France in World War I, during the Battle of the SommeHe played for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for in 1911.He was in the Rifle Brigade...
  
  , died on 1 July 1916, Aged 26.
• William Elphinstone Gordon
  William Elphinstone Gordon
  Major Roland Elphinstone Gordon MC was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Royal Artillery RFC and was capped for in 1913...
  
  , died on 30 August 1918, Aged 25
• James Young Milne Henderson
  James Young Milne Henderson
  James Young Milne Henderson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Watsonians and was capped for in 1911.-References:...
  
  , died on 31 July 1917, Aged 26
• David Dickie Howie
  Dave Howie
  David Dickie Howie was a Scottish rugby union player for and Kirkcaldy RFC. He died in the First World War.He was capped seven times for between 1912–13...
  
   ("Dave Howie"), died on 19 January 1916, Aged 27
• James Laidlaw Huggan
  James Huggan
  James Laidlaw Huggan was a rugby union player. He was killed in World War I at the First Battle of the Aisne...
  
  , died on 16 September 1914, Aged 25
• William Ramsay Hutchison
  William Ramsay Hutchison
  William Ramsay Hutchison was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Glasgow High School FP and was capped for in 1911.-References:...
  
  , died on 22 March 1918, Aged 29
• George A.W. Lamond
  George A.W. Lamond
  Lieutenant Colonel George A.W. Lamond was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Kelvinside Academicals and was capped for in 1899-1905.-References:...
  
  , died on 25 February 1918, Aged 39
• Eric Milroy
  Eric Milroy
  Eric "Puss" MacLeod Milroy was a Scottish rugby union player who played club rugby for Watsonians and international rugby for ....
  
  , ("Puss Milroy") died on 18 July 1916 Aged 28.
• Thomas Arthur Nelson
  Thomas Arthur Nelson
  Thomas Arthur Nelson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I serving with the Lothian and Border Horse He played for Oxford University RFC and was capped for in 1898.-References:...
  
  , died on 9 April 1917, Aged 40
• James Pearson
  James Pearson (rugby union)
  James Pearson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Watsonians and was capped for in 1909-13.-References:...
  
  , died on 22 May 1915, Aged 26
• Lewis Robertson
  Lewis Robertson
  Lewis Robertson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for London Scottish FC and was capped for in 1908-13.-References:...
  
  , died on 3 November 1914, Aged 31
• James Ross
  James Ross (rugby union)
  James "Jimmy" Ross was a Scottish rugby union player for . He was one of the first Scottish rugby internationalists to die in the First World War, and fell at Messines....
  
  , died on 31 October 1914, Aged 34
• Andrew Ross
  Andrew Ross (rugby union)
  Andrew Ross was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Royal High School FP and was capped for in 1905-9.-References:...
  
  , died on 6 April 1916, Aged 36
• Ronald Francis Simson
  Ronald Simson
  Ronald Francis Simson, was a Scottish rugby union player for . Simson was the first rugby international - of any nationality - to die in the war...
  
  , died on 14 September 1914, Aged 24
• Stephen Sebastian Leonard Steyn, died on 8 December 1917, Aged 28
• Walter Riddell Sutherland
  Walter Sutherland
  Walter Riddell Sutherland , also known as Wattie Suddie from Hawick was a Scottish rugby union footballer who gained 13 caps playing for the Scotland national rugby union team between 1910 and 1914 and was regarded as the best Scottish wing threequarter of his day...
  
   ("Wattie Suddie"), died on 4 October 1918, Aged 27
• Frederick Harding Turner
  Frederick Harding Turner
  Frederick Harding Turner was a rugby union player. He was killed in World War I in the trenches near Kemmel on 10 January 1915 in a trench occupied by his platoon of the Liverpool Scottish when overseeing the organisation of a barbed wire entanglement.He played for Oxford University RFC, and...
  
  , died on 10 January 1915, Aged 26
• Albert Luvian Wade
  Albert Luvian Wade
  Albert Luvian Wade was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I-Early life:Albert Wade was born on September 20, 1884 in Glasgow...
  
  , died on 28 April 1917, Aged 32.
• William Middleton Wallace
  William Middleton Wallace
  William Middleton Wallace was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for in 1913-14.-References:...
  
  , died on 22 August 1915, Aged 22
• John George Will
  John George Will
  John George Will was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I an air battle over Arras.He played for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for in 1912-14....
  
  , died on 25 March 1917, Aged 24
• John Skinner Wilson
  John Skinner Wilson (rugby union)
  John Skinner Wilson was a rugby union player. He was killed in World War I, in the Battle of JutlandHe played for United Services RFC and London Scottish FC and was capped for in 1908-9.-See also:...
  
  , died on 31 May 1916, Aged 32
• Eric Templeton Young
  Eric Templeton Young
  Eric Templeton Young was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War I during the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkey.-References:...
  
  , died on 28 June 1915, Aged 23

Adam Burdett was part of the 1906-7 tour to the British Isles. This was the inaugrial tour and is recognised as the event that coined the word "Springboks" as a nickname for the South Africa team. Poignantly, in the two games he played on that tour in November 1906, he shared the field with David Bedell-Sivright

David Bedell-Sivright

David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

 of , and Basil Maclear

Basil Maclear

Basil Maclear was an Irish rugby international. He won eleven caps between 1905 and 1907.The son of a doctor from Bedford, he was later sent to Fermoy in County Cork by the British Army....

 of , who were also casualties of that war. Likewise, Toby Moll

Toby Moll

Tobias "Toby" Mortimer Moll was a South African rugby union player from Cape Town. He was killed in World War I, while serving as a captain in the Leicestershire Regiment. According to a fellow soldier of the time:...

 would probably have rubbed shoulders with Eric Milroy

Eric Milroy

Eric "Puss" MacLeod Milroy was a Scottish rugby union player who played club rugby for Watsonians and international rugby for ....

, Noel Humphreys or Phil Waller

Phil Waller

Phil Waller was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Johannesburg. He won six caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa....

 in the 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa.

• Adam Francis Burdett
  Adam Burdett
  Adam Francis Burdett was a South African rugby union player from Oudtshoorn. He was killed in World War I, while serving as a captain in the South African Service Corps. He took part in the 1906-07 South Africa rugby union tour, the original 'Springbok' tour. He was awarded two caps in November...
  
  ; died on November 4, 1918, Aged 36
• Septimus Heyns Ledger
  Sep Ledger
  Septimus "Sep" Heyns Ledger was a South African rugby union player from Kimberley, South Africa. He was killed in World War I, in Arras, France while serving as a sergeant in the South African Infantry. He was a clerk by profession.Ledger took part in the 1912-13 South Africa rugby union tour. He...
  
   ("Sep Ledger"); died on 13 April 1917 Aged 26.
• Tobias Mortimer Moll
  Toby Moll
  Tobias "Toby" Mortimer Moll was a South African rugby union player from Cape Town. He was killed in World War I, while serving as a captain in the Leicestershire Regiment. According to a fellow soldier of the time:...
  
   ("Toby Moll"); died on 14 July 1916, Aged 26
• Jan Willem Hunter Morkel
  Jacky Morkel
  Jan "Jacky" Willem Hurter Morkel was a South African rugby union player. He was killed in German East Africa in World War I, while serving in the Mounted Commandos...
  
   ("Jacky Morkel"); died on 15 May 1916, Aged 25
• Gerald W. Thompson
  Tommy Thompson (rugby union)
  Gerald "Tommy" W. Thompson was a South African rugby union player from Carnarvon in South Africa, where he attended Rondebosch Boys' High School. He was killed in German East Africa in World War I, while serving in the South African Infantry...
  
   ("Tommy Thompson"); died on 20 June 1916, Aged 29

Amongst the fatalities was Richard Garnons Williams

Richard Garnons Williams

Richard Davies Garnons Williams was a Welsh international rugby union and forward who played club rugby for Brecon and Newport...

, who had played in the very first Wales international rugby union match

1880-81 Home Nations rugby union matches

The 1880-81 Home Nations rugby union matches were a series of international rugby union friendlies held between the England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales national rugby union teams. This season is most notable for the introduction of Wales as an international rugby union nation, playing their first...

 in 1881. At 59 years of age, he was the eldest of the 13 Wales international players to be killed during the war.

Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor (rugby player)

Engineer Captain Charles Gerald Taylor LVO was a Royal Navy officer and Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for Blackheath. He was the first Welsh international to be killed in action during World War I...

 was the first Welsh fatality, and was a noted athlete, especially good at the pole vault.

Fred Perrett

Fred Perrett

Fred Leonard Perrett was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Neath. He won five caps for Wales and in his first international game faced the touring South Africans.-Rugby career:...

 is often left out of lists of the Welsh international war dead due to his supposed defection to the professional game.

• William Purdon Geen
  Billy Geen
  William "Billy" Purdon Geen was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby for Monmouthshire. Geen was selected for Wales on three occasions.-Rugby career:...
  
   ("Billy Geen"), died on 31 July 1915, Aged 24
• Brinley Richard Lewis
  Bryn Lewis
  Major Brinley 'Bryn' Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Newport and Cambridge University. He is one of twelve Welsh internationals to have died in active duty during World War I....
  
   ("Bryn Lewis"), died on 2 April 1917, Aged 26
• Fred Leonard Perret
  Fred Perrett
  Fred Leonard Perrett was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Neath. He won five caps for Wales and in his first international game faced the touring South Africans.-Rugby career:...
  
  , died on 1 December 1918, Aged 27
• Louis Augustus Phillips
  Lou Phillips
  Louis Augustus "Lou" Phillips was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport. He won four caps for Wales and was a talented amateur golf player.-Rugby career:...
  
   ("Lou Phillips"), died on 14 March 1916, Aged 38
• Charles Mayrick Pritchard
  Charlie Pritchard
  Captain Charlie Pritchard was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks. He played club rugby for Newport RFC and county rugby for Monmouthshire.-Rugby career:...
  
   ("Charlie Pritchard"), died on 14 August 1916, aged 34.
• Charles Gerald Taylor
  Charles Taylor (rugby player)
  Engineer Captain Charles Gerald Taylor LVO was a Royal Navy officer and Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for Blackheath. He was the first Welsh international to be killed in action during World War I...
  
  , died on 24 January 1915, Aged 51.
• Edward John Richard Thomas
  Dick Thomas
  Edward John Richard 'Dick' Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union back who played club rugby for Mountain Ash.-Rugby career:...
  
   ("Dick Thomas"), died on 7 July 1916, Aged 35
• Horace Wyndham Thomas
  Horace Thomas
  Horace Wyndham Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea. He won just two caps for Wales, and was one of thirteen Welsh internationals to die in conflict during World War I....
  
  , died on 3 September 1916, Aged 26
• Phillip Dudley Waller
  Phil Waller
  Phil Waller was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Johannesburg. He won six caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa....
  
  , ("Phil Waller") died on 14 December 1917, Aged 28.
• David Watts
  David Watts (rugby player)
  David Watts was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Maesteg. He won four caps for Wales, all in 1914 and may have been awarded more, but his career was cut short by the outbreak of World War I....
  
  , died on 14 July 1916, Aged 30
• David Westacott
  Dai Westacott
  David "Dai" Westacott was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Westacott played a single international game for Wales, in 1906, and faced the Original All Blacks as part of the Glamorgan county team in 1905.-Rugby career:Westacott first came to note as a...
  
  , ("Dai Westacott") died on 27 August 1917, Aged 35
• John Lewis Williams
  Johnnie Williams
  Johnnie Williams was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Club. A three times Triple Crown winner, out of seventeen appearances for Wales he was on the losing side only twice....
  
  , ("Johnnie Wlliams") died on 12 July 1916, aged 34.
• Richard Davies Garnons Williams
  Richard Garnons Williams
  Richard Davies Garnons Williams was a Welsh international rugby union and forward who played club rugby for Brecon and Newport...
  
  , died on 28 September 1915, Aged 59

Printed sources

• Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1905326246)
• Guttman, Jon & Dempsey, Harry (2002). Spad XII/XIII Aces of World War I Aircraft of the Aces). Osprey Publishing.
• Richards, Huw A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union (Mainstream Publishing
  Mainstream Publishing
  Mainstream Publishing is a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded in 1978. It is associated with the Random House Group, who bought Mainstream in 2005....
  
  , Edinburgh
  Edinburgh
  Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
  
  , 2007, ISBN 9781845962555)
• Starmer-Smith, Nigel
  Nigel Starmer-Smith
  Nigel Starmer-Smith is a former international rugby union player, who is now a respected British rugby journalist and commentator.-Playing career:...
  
  (ed) Rugby – A Way of Life, An Illustrated History of Rugby (Lennard Books, 1986 ISBN 0 7126 2662 X)

Online resources

• Commonwealth War Graves database
• An entire team wiped out by the Great War (The Scotsman)

Footnotes