Nairn Alexander MacEwan 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:...

 player and coach. He played at flanker, and was capped twenty times for Scotland between 1971–75, including a try in the match against in 1972.

Unusually for a top level Scottish rugby player, MacEwan was a Highlander, and Highland based. As 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...

 says:

"There have been fine players too who missed 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...

 selection: ... Nairn MacEwan, a great mauler whose enthusiasm for the game was so great that he travelled thousands of miles between his home in Inverness and his club Gala

Gala RFC

Gala Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, founded in 1875, they play their home games at Netherdale....

."

MacEwan helped Highland RFC

Highland RFC

Highland Rugby Football Club is a rugby union amateur club from the city of Inverness that compete in the Caledonia Regional League Division 1, the Highland Alliance League and the Caledonia Three Northwest...

 to their "years of glory in the Seventies, when guided and inspired by [him], they shot up through the divisions, but they have since fallen away, and are now a run of the mill Second Division outfit."

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'...

 notes that Bill Dickinson

Bill Dickinson

Bill Dickinson is a former rugby union player who was appointed the first official national coach of in 1971. Richard Bath points out that Dickinson's appointment made an "immediate impact" in performance, leading to a one point loss to a "rampant side" and wins against and others...

 included MacEwan in "one of the most formidable packs of all time", alongside the Scottish rugby greats like Ian McLauchlan

Ian McLauchlan

John "Ian" McLauchlan is a former Scottish John "Ian" McLauchlan is a former [[Scotland|Scottish]] John "Ian" McLauchlan is a former [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[rugby union] playerer...

, Sandy Carmichael

Sandy Carmichael

Alexander Bennett Carmichael was a tighthead prop forward who played for West of Scotland R.F.C. and earned 50 caps in the Scotland national rugby union team from 1967 to 1978, which was a record for a Scottish forward at the time...

, Alistair McHarg, Gordon Brown, Peter Brown and Rodger Arneil

Rodger Arneil

Rodger Arniel is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He was played on two British and Irish Lions tours - to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, the second tour as a replacement...

. However, once when Scotland played at Twickenham

Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...

, England coach John Burgess

John Burgess

For other persons named John Burgess, see John Burgess .John William Burgess was a pioneering American political scientist...

 made the notorious comment,

"I've seen this Scottish pack rucking. If it's blood on their boots they want, that's what they'll get."

Nairn MacEwan was taken off the field in this game after only two minutes.

Coaching

MacEwan became the second national coach for in 1977 (a position which was unpaid at the time), succeeding Bill Dickinson

Bill Dickinson

Bill Dickinson is a former rugby union player who was appointed the first official national coach of in 1971. Richard Bath points out that Dickinson's appointment made an "immediate impact" in performance, leading to a one point loss to a "rampant side" and wins against and others...

, but was unsuccessful over the next three seasons - Scotland only won one game in this period. MacEwan succeeded by Jim Telfer

Jim Telfer

James "Jim" Telfer is a Scottish rugby union coach and a former rugby player. A former headmaster at Hawick High School and chemistry teacher, he has won fame as a Scottish forwards coach who gave punishing training sessions to his players...

.

MacEwan also coached the Italian side Rugby Rovigo

Rugby Rovigo

Rugby Rovigo Delta are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Super 10.They are based in Rovigo in Veneto....

.