RUCK is saddened to hear of the death earlier today of former Scotland back-row forward and former national coach Nairn MacEwan. He was 76.
MacEwan was born in Dar-es-Salaam, in what is now Tanzania, in December 1941. He was described today by his former Scotland team-mate and captain Ian McLauchlan as a “very, very good player who was extremely dedicated to the game and a real student of the game.”
MacEwan’s commitment was the stuff of legend. He would often travel three times in a week, twice for training and then at the weekend for playing, from his home near Inverness to Galashiels in the Borders, at a time when Gala were a major power in the Scottish club game. A round trip of some 400 plus miles, long before any road improvements to the A9.
MacEwan won his first cap against France at the Stade Colombes in Paris in January 1971 and he won 20 caps in total over the next four years.