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A hotel ruckus after NZ had beaten Wales 19-16 saw Keith Murdoch banished from the tour. He stopped in Oz and hasn't yet made it home yet!
BEDELL-SIVRIGHT, ‘DARKIE’
Cambridge University, Edinburgh University and Scotland
22 internationals for Scotland 1900–08
1 international for Great Britain 1904
One of the first men in rugby to gain a reputation for being a tough, hard-nosed footballer, D.R. Bedell-Sivright (spelled Bedell-Sievewright by some historians) was a vigorous forward (and a Scottish heavyweight boxing champion), perhaps a forerunner of the tough men of later generations.
There were some who disapproved of Bedell-Sivright’s uncompromising methods, considering them ‘ungentlemanly’. Nevertheless, he built an excellent record in the Scottish forward pack.
He was chosen as captain of the Great Britain team that toured Australia and New Zealand in 1904. Winning that position ahead of an Englishman was perhaps the greatest tribute paid to ‘Darkie’, as the team was chosen by the (English) Rugby Football Union.
Bedell-Sivright, whose brother John also played for Scotland, was for a time a stock-rearer in Australia. He died of blood poisoning at Gallipoli during World War I.
From 1987 to 2011 inclusive; How many men have refereed the seven Rugby World Cup finals?
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