Stanley Coughtrie, 1935-2022
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Stan Coughtrie on 25th July 2022 in Le Poire sur Vie, France. A fine man, player, past captain of Edinburgh, and great supporter of the Club. He was 87.
Stan was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and trained as a chartered accountant. He spent several years at Stenhouse, before setting up a successful sport retail business.
His good friend, Ken Scotland, recalls: ‘Stan and I were good friends for a long time. We had played rugby and cricket in opposition throughout our schooldays, but our first real meeting was to be selected for an East Schools XI against a Glasgow Schools XI to be played in Glasgow in probably 1954. After the game we were dropped off by the team bus at the Mound to make our own way home. Stan to a boarding house in Kinnear Road and me to home in Warriston Avenue. We bonded immediately to the extent that ‘the posh public schoolboy’ was travelling without cash and I paid for his tram ride down the road!’ Another friend, Charlie Herd, fondly remembers: ‘We shared a linguistic deficit with our French studies until our teacher brought in a young French girl to help the two of us – a brilliant idea with instant results! The last time I saw him he said he was still struggling, despite living there for nearly 40 years!’
Stan was a key member of the 1955-56 championship winning Accies XV, where it was reported 'One of the keys to success was the acquisition of a scrum-half in S. Coughtrie. His long accurate service enabled our backs to take the ball on the move and penetrate the opposing defence.' The side was made up of some fantastic players including, amongst others, Tommy McClung, the Marshall brothers, Keith Paterson-Brown and Mike Marwick.
Accies 1st XV - Winners of The Unofficial Championship, 1955-56
Back: CF Sleigh, JM Barber, RW Meikle, JH Marshall, J Forrest, S Coughtrie, JDL Fairbairn.
Middle: T McClung, KW Paterson-Brown, RI Marshall, MTR Marwick (c), HG Hay, DJ Marshall, MJ Sands
Front: HMA Rowan, JA Simson
Stan also played a key role in the centenary season team of 1957, playing against a star studded International XV, which included Douglas Elliot, Ken Scotland and Tony O’Reilly.
Centenary Match, 6th Oct 1957 - Academicals vs. International XV
S Coughtrie standing middle row centre (above the ball).
Accies 1st XV, Centenary Season 1957-58
JB Neill, RJ Marshall, G McClung, S Coughtrie, JK Millar, MTR Marwick, MJ Sands, JDL Fairburn.
DJ Marshall, JA Simson, T McClung, JH Marshall (Captain), JC Walker, AF Gardiner, KW Paterson-Brown.
DD Walker, TLB Adam.
In season 1958-59 he was the Academicals’ outstanding player, possessing a long and accurate pass, and excelling in controlling the game tactically by accurate touch-kicking in both attack and defence. It is worth noting that in that season every time the team was beaten, he was missing from the side. He controlled both the forwards and backs and his captaincy success of Edinburgh, leading them to the inter-district championship twice, is testament to that.
Stan with ball front row in navy blue – in a match at Balgray in Glasgow played on 23rd September 1963 to celebrate some Anniversary of the Kelvinside Accies Club.
The same season 1958-59 Stan picked up the first four of his eleven caps for Scotland. At 6’1½” Stan was unusually tall for a scrum half, indeed the French team nicknamed him ‘L’Interminable’ (‘The Endless’).
His great form that season brought him to the attention of the British & Irish Lions selectors, who duly selected him for the 1959 tour of Australasia. Unfortunately, he was injured at the start of the tour which meant he missed the opportunity to show his brilliant potential at the very highest level. His friend, Charlie Herd, stated ‘His injury at the start of the 1959 Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand robbed him of his chance to star on the world stage which he certainly would have done, a great pity and the Lions would certainly have done much better than they did.’ Charlie went on to say, ‘I saw him drop a goal at Landsdown Road with his left foot directly from a line out - what skill!’ Fellow tourist and friend, Ken Scotland, stated that ‘On the 1959 Tour Stan was injured early and never had the opportunity to show his true worth. Nevertheless, his quiet sense of humour made him a popular member of the squad and we were all really sorry that he decided to head home for an operation, rather than complete the Tour as he could have done.’
An extract from the Scotland vs. Wales match programme of 1963, when Stan played alongside greats such as Ken Scotland, Dave Rollo and John Douglas. During this match there were 111 lineouts, many of them the result of Clive Rowlands kicking directly into touch.
As well as a very talented rugby player, Stan was also an accomplished cricketer, captaining Clydesdale in seasons 1965-66 and 1971. The club won the Western District Cricket Union Championship in the first and last of those years. Also, in 1974, at the age of 39, he returned to Raeburn Place to play cricket for the Accies. The club qualified that year for the Rothman’s Quaich, the forerunner of the Scottish Cup. Stan played an essential role in the team that year and the Club won the Quaich, defeating Stenhousemuir in a memorable final at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow in August 1974. This is the only time in the very long history of EACC that a national trophy was won. He was also a lifelong Motherwell FC supporter.
His friend Ken Scotland said: ‘He was a great team man, and I was honoured to play with him.’ Another friend and ex-Heriot’s scrum half, Drew Ramsay, said: ‘Whilst I played against Stan a few times I got to know him well through Jeremy Burnet at Pitlochry where Stan owned one of his sports shops. At this time, he and Moray were thinking of moving to France permanently and duly did so. I had a house in France then and for many years, and Jeremy and I visited Stan and Moray there quite often. On the last occasion when we stayed with them a number of years ago (Jeremy was alive) Stan was not at all well. However, we found him in good spirits, shared a few glasses, had a lot of laughs. I'm feeling very sad at his passing.’ High praise for a true gentleman and great Accies man.
Our thoughts and condolences are with Stan’s many friends and family, especially his wife, Moray, his children Linda, Keith and Claire, stepchildren Peter and Julie and grandchildren Calum, Hannah, Louis and Rosie.