Bill
MacLaganBill
MacLagan
Bill Maclagen was born in
1858 and educated at The Edinburgh Academy (1869-75), he represented Scotland in
26 international matches, between 1878 and 1890, 
playing
as captain in eight. A stockbroker, he moved to London in 1880 and played a
prominent part in the establishment of the London Scottish club (founded in
1878), both as player and office bearer.
Bill Maclagen could be regarded as one of the main people in the development of Scottish Rugby. When he was playing Rugby Union was in the process of turning from a 20-a-side game to 15-a-side game.
In the 20-a-side version, teams played with two fullbacks instead of one like we see now.
The next year, 1878, Ireland again the opposition, Maclagan was given the honour of becoming the second single fullback for Scotland. It was his first cap for his country. He would go on to score three tries and four conversions.
An unbroken run as full-back for five internationals served only to tee up another piece of rugby history when - against Ireland in 1881 he was joined by two team mates to form the first-ever, three-man three quarter line in a rugby international.
Even though he had retired from playing for Scotland he took the opportunity to captain a British Isles team touring South Africa in 1891. The team enjoyed a remarkable record and won all 19 of their matches, scoring 224 points while conceding only one.
During the tour of South Africa he played in 18 of the 19 games. He has been commented on many times about his good ball skills. He has been described, in various sources, as being a destructively ferocious but fair tackler, an aggressive and determined runner and always a potential scorer. He was also noted for the length and accuracy of his touch kicking.