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Peter Brown, who has died aged 83, captained the Scottish rugby team 10 times and led his country to three victories over England in the space of a year in the early 1970s .
Playing as a second row or number 8, Brown was, unusually for a striker, an excellent goal kicker, and in the first of these victories, in the Five Nations Championship at Twickenham in March 1971, he converted his own score in the first half. try to give Scotland the advantage. But England staged a comeback, and after Chris Rea touched down in the dying seconds, the game hinged on a last-ditch conversion effort from Brown, who sent the ball home to give Scotland a dramatic 16-win 15.
A week later at Murrayfield, in a match marking the centenary of international rugby, Scotland won again against England under Brown’s leadership by scoring another try in a more comfortable 26–6 victory . Returning to Edinburgh for the Five Nations the following year, he achieved another triumph, in March 1972, scoring a try and three conversions in a 23-9 victory.
He was unique in leading Scotland to three consecutive victories against the Auld Enemy, and Brown’s prowess as a kicker earned him 67 international points in 29 matches between 1964 and 1973, making him the most successful striker all-time performer for his country. His 15 penalties and six conversions were executed with an idiosyncratic kicking routine, in which he turned his back to the goal, wiped his nose on his shirt, then threw the ball with a low trajectory through the posts.
An unorthodox and larger-than-life character, Brown had an ungainly gait that spanned the field and was nicknamed “the hanger man” because of his unusually square shoulders. He also had an infectious self-confidence and a carefree, irrepressible nature that passed on positively to the players when he became skipper.
Outside of amateur rugby, he used this optimistic outlook to good effect in a parallel business career which resulted in the presidency of the Scottish Building Society and made him a renowned motivational speaker.
Peter Currie Brown was born on December 16, 1941 in Troon, Ayrshire. His father, John, was a professional footballer who won the Scottish Cup with Clyde as goalkeeper in 1939. But Peter’s school, Marr College in Troon, only played rugby, so he channeled his energies towards the oval ball game, showing sufficient talent. to represent Glasgow Schools, for whom he played alongside future England cricket captain Mike Denness.
After finishing secondary school, Brown qualified as a chartered accountant before moving with his new wife, Jill, a physiotherapist, to the Scottish Borders, where he played for Gala RFC in Galashiels, having previously played for the club west of Scotland at Milngavie. . His international debut came aged 22 against France at Murrayfield, in a 10–0 win in the Five Nations, and he played his second match at the same venue in an extraordinary 0-0 draw. -0 against New Zealand.
Late in his Scottish career, Brown appeared on occasion with his younger brother, Gordon, who was also a second-row forward and who became a much admired British and Irish Lions player during three successful tours during Peter was invited to go on the Lions’ trip to New Zealand in 1971, but he had just taken up a new job as an accountant with Hogg & Thorburn in Galashiels and didn’t feel able to be away for so much time.
His last match for Scotland came in April 1973 against a President’s XV at Murrayfield, in which, again as captain, he lost with a 27–16 victory. At Galashiels, where he was also skipper, he then became selector and committee member.
He maintained his links with international rugby as a long-serving member of Scottish Rugby’s disciplinary committee at three World Cups and as an independent disciplinary commissioner for the Six Nations and European Cup competitions.
Outside of gaming, Brown became a senior partner at Hogg & Thorburn, where he remained until his retirement in 2004. Chairman of the Scottish Building Society from 1993 to 2003, he was also a non-executive director of Edinburgh Risk Management , an insurance brokerage company. An entertaining character, he was sought after as a speaker in the corporate arena and on the after-dinner sports circuit.
Peter Brown, born December 16, 1941, died January 12, 2025
