George Ritchie (rugby union, born 1848)
| Full name | George Ritchie | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 April 1848 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 31 January 1896 (aged 47) | ||
| Place of death | Kelso, Scotland | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Amateur clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | ||
| Merchistons | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1871 | Scotland | 1 | (0) |
George Ritchie (16 April 1848 - 31 January 1896) was a Scottish international rugby union player who played for Merchistons in Edinburgh.
Born in Edinburgh in 1848, Ritchie played as a Forward.
Ritchie played in the first ever rugby union international match for Scotland against England in 27 March 1871[1] at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh.[2]
In the match, he almost scored the first ever international try. He went over the try-line but a clutch of bodies were on top of him. An Englishman claimed to have control of the ball and the umpire decided it was Scotland's hack off 5 yards from the line. Fortunately for Scotland, they scored a try and goal from the resultant set-piece; the try coming from Angus Buchanan.[3]
It was Ritchie's only international appearance for Scotland and he always maintained that he scored a perfectly good try, throughout the rest of his life.[4] He died in Kelso, Scotland in 1896.