Obituary: James Greenwood, Scotland rugby internationalist and author

Published on Monday 13 September 2010 19:47

James Thomson Greenwood, Scotland rugby internationalist and author. Born: 2 December, 1928, in Dunfermline, Fife. Died: 12 September, 2010, in Dumfries.

A Scot of intelligence and conviction, but what set Jim Greenwood was his thinking on how rugby should be played - thinking that has been taken up by the world's leading rugby coaches and used to mastermind some of the greatest moments in the game.

It is of some sadness that Greenwood attracts a wealth of headlines only now, on his death, but there is also an inevitability about that, such was his happiness at remaining out of the spotlight and the distance he had from the sharp end of elite coaching.

He could and probably should have been one of Scotland's first national coaches. But by the time "coaches" were being appointed in rugby union, he was ensconced in England, a teacher at Loughborough Colleges, and not part of the Scottish rugby establishment. To Jim, the game of rugby was complex, but essentially simple. It could be played in many ways, with many skills being deployed, but revolved around an ambition that used every player on the field and produced a game that would thrill and excite the players involved as much as spectators.

His writings are detailed, moving from skill training to fitness, strength and conditioning to the art of kicking to expose weakness and ignite attacks, but their true value lies in the fact that they have never dated. While he has revised and re-printed his books Total Rugby and Think Rugby over the past four decades, the changes tended only to be updating players' names from the decade before to the current generation.

As confident as he was in his beliefs on how the game should be played, however, Jim was neither arrogant nor intractable. A teacher, who left Dunfermline High school to read English at Edinburgh University with interests in art and music, he would find his niche in sports education. He had a widespread knowledge - he also spent time in Japan - but could simplify his teachings, and would derive great results from steady encouragement rather than shouting. Similarly, in his coaching, he could be tough but satisfied merely by seeing a pupil or player improve and express themselves whether the game was won or not. He was not pleased to see players shun others for the simple pleasure of winning. In his writing, it was enough for him to know that his books were taken seriously, especially in the southern hemisphere.

In one edition of Total Rugby, one could imagine him surprised, eyebrows raised, but delighted as he commented: "My coaching books have done exceptionally well in the southern hemisphere, and have led to widespread coaching tours. I was shown a manuscript translation of Total Rugby in Spanish, completed by an enthusiast who didn't speak English, but had puzzled out the meanings with the help of a dictionary.So don't complain about its length in English!"

He was, however, a sporting visionary with few peers. In his books, he regularly used examples from other sports, citing a quote from Alan Hansen, the ex-Liverpool and Scotland defender and now BBC pundit, that he was never coached in 14 years at Liverpool as testament to a problem endemic in British sport.

As a player, he started out with Dunfermline and earned his first cap as a flanker while at Edinburgh University in 1952, against France, where he joined the formidable duo of Douglas Elliot and Peter Kininmonth. He had been brought in along with seven other debutants in the wake of the humiliating 44-0 defeat suffered against South Africa at Murrayfield at the tail end of 1951.

The Scots lost 13-11, the fourth defeat in a run of 17 that still stands as a sorry record, but he was dropped and only recalled, at No8 and captain, in 1955, for the 16th Test of that run, and duly went on to play in 19 of the next 20 Test matches as Scotland emerged from the drought.

He was selected for the Lions tour of 1955 and his performances earned the newspaper report that he was "without equal among his contemporaries for a combination of skill, perception and deadly physical pace".

He did not play club rugby on his return from South Africa, preferring to focus on his work at Glenalmond College and, having carried out his National Service with the Royal Air Force, when he played for Harlequins - led the local cadet force. Still, however, he turned out for the North, Barbarians and Scotland, captaining the latter.

He left to teach in the south of England and eventually moved to the then Loughborough Colleges, where his passion for sport blended perfectly with an institution keen to help produce new generations of sporting talent.

He inevitably became more aligned with English rugby and as Scotland moved through the Seventies with Bill Dickinson and then Nairn MacEwan before Jim Telfer took up the reins, the Scottish Rugby Union officials of that decade perhaps saw no need to look to a Scot south of the Border for advice, while his guidance was much appreciated in countries as far away as Japan.

On retirement from Loughborough, Greenwood and his wife Margot moved to the village of Crossmichael near Castle Douglas in Dumfriesshire, though he still remained in demand as a rugby consultant worldwide.He was a delight to talk rugby with, as interested in your views as he was of offering his own opinions.

In a foreword to Total Rugby, Don Rutherford, the former doyen of British coaches, said of the book: "If it persuaded even a handful of teams to change their approach and play total rugby then the author for one will, I'm sure, feel his efforts were well worthwhile."

Jim Greenwood encouraged that in and influenced more people than he will ever know, and the raft of tributes yesterday and to come will bear testament to the fact that his legacy will continue to inspire long into the future.