Rutherford gained 42 caps at fly-half for Scotland between 1979 and 1987.[3]
Richard Bath writes of him that:
"Outside Wales, perhaps only the Irish pair of Tony Ward and Ollie Campbell were able to hold a candle to fly-half John Rutherford, the man who dominated Scottish back play for most of the 1980s... Deceptively quick and a natural athlete, he was able to boot the ball prodigious distances or beat a man one-on-one, seemingly at will. Allied to a keen rugby intellect, Rutherford was Scotland's star turn throughout the 1980s."[1]
Rutherford was a major figure in Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam.[1]
In the warm up for the 1987 world cup he injured his knee in an unofficial game against Bermuda. He consequently didn't last long in the opening game for Scotland in the 1987 World Cup against France. This proved to be his last international appearance[4][1] He partnered scrum-halfRoy Laidlaw in 35 tests, at the time the record for any international half-back pairing.
Richard Bath writes of this partnership that:
"every country has, at some stage, a double-act which sees two players through sheer longevity, become mentioned in the same breath... One of the most enduring partnerships was that of Jed-Forest's Roy Laidlaw and Selkirk's John Rutherford. For nigh on a decade, the two were immovable at half-back for Scotland. Unlike most of the other famous pairings, however, it was Laidlaw and Rutherford's differences rather than their similarities, that melded them into an outstanding partnership. On the one hand, there was the peerless Rutherford, all grace and poise, who could glide through tackles and drill a ball onto a sixpence in the opposition's 22. On the other, there was Laidlaw, a gutsy fighter in the classic Borders mould. The pair played together on 35 occasions, a world record for a half-back partnership."[5]
john, rutherford, rugby, union, john, young, rutherford, born, october, 1955, former, scotland, international, rugby, union, player, regular, playing, position, half, john, rutherfordbirth, namejohn, young, rutherforddate, birth, 1955, october, 1955, rugby, un. John Young Rutherford born 4 October 1955 is a former Scotland international rugby union player 1 2 His regular playing position was Fly half John RutherfordBirth nameJohn Young RutherfordDate of birth 1955 10 04 4 October 1955 age 68 Rugby union careerPosition s Fly halfAmateur team s YearsTeamApps Points Selkirk Provincial State sidesYearsTeamApps Points South of Scotland International careerYearsTeamApps Points 1979 87Scotland42 64 Contents 1 Rugby Union career 1 1 Amateur career 1 2 Provincial career 1 3 International career 2 Business career 3 References 4 External linksRugby Union career editAmateur career edit Rutherford played for Selkirk 1 Rutherford was nicknamed Rud or Ruddie Provincial career edit Rutherford was capped by South of Scotland 1 International career edit Rutherford gained 42 caps at fly half for Scotland between 1979 and 1987 3 Richard Bath writes of him that Outside Wales perhaps only the Irish pair of Tony Ward and Ollie Campbell were able to hold a candle to fly half John Rutherford the man who dominated Scottish back play for most of the 1980s Deceptively quick and a natural athlete he was able to boot the ball prodigious distances or beat a man one on one seemingly at will Allied to a keen rugby intellect Rutherford was Scotland s star turn throughout the 1980s 1 Rutherford was a major figure in Scotland s 1984 Grand Slam 1 In the warm up for the 1987 world cup he injured his knee in an unofficial game against Bermuda He consequently didn t last long in the opening game for Scotland in the 1987 World Cup against France This proved to be his last international appearance 4 1 He partnered scrum half Roy Laidlaw in 35 tests at the time the record for any international half back pairing Richard Bath writes of this partnership that every country has at some stage a double act which sees two players through sheer longevity become mentioned in the same breath One of the most enduring partnerships was that of Jed Forest s Roy Laidlaw and Selkirk s John Rutherford For nigh on a decade the two were immovable at half back for Scotland Unlike most of the other famous pairings however it was Laidlaw and Rutherford s differences rather than their similarities that melded them into an outstanding partnership On the one hand there was the peerless Rutherford all grace and poise who could glide through tackles and drill a ball onto a sixpence in the opposition s 22 On the other there was Laidlaw a gutsy fighter in the classic Borders mould The pair played together on 35 occasions a world record for a half back partnership 5 Rutherford was chosen to tour with the British and Irish Lions in 1983 being picked to play in the test team at inside centre 1 Rutherford also played for the Rest of the World XV Business career editAfter his exit from Scottish Rugby John Rutherford went on to work in the financial sector and direct a financial consultancy 6 Rutherford is a Director of The Bill McLaren Foundation alongside Andy Irvine 7 References edit a b c d e f g Bath p156 John Young Rutherford ESPN scrum Rugby Union ESPN Scrum Statsguru Player analysis John Rutherford Test matches ESPN scrum Martin Hannan Dose of reality needed over Scots Rugby World Cup prospects The National Scotland Bath pp 145 6 JRG Financial Consultancy Edinburgh Based IFA Contact Us Bill McLaren Foundation Archived from the original on 13 September 2015 Retrieved 28 February 2016 Sources Bath Richard ed The Complete Book of Rugby Seven Oaks Ltd 1997 ISBN 1 86200 013 1 Massie Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby Polygon Edinburgh ISBN 0 904919 84 6 External links editRugby photographic encyclopedia amp rugby union player hero images by sporting heroes net Rugby photographic encyclopedia amp rugby union player hero images by sporting heroes net nbsp nbsp nbsp This Scottish rugby union biography article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Rutherford rugby union amp oldid 1175188617, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
