Obituary: Jim Carswell

Jim received his Scotland cap more than 47 years after he had played in the second row on a damp autumn day at Murrayfield in a 34-9 win against Japan in 1976.

He was one of some 75 male players to be capped retrospectively by Scottish Rugby as part of the union’s 150th anniversary, given at the time of his appearance the match had non-cap status.

Carswell was born in Paisley on 2 September 1947. He was a product of the Paisley Grammarians club and was lauded in a House of Commons early day motion as the club’s first player to win full international honours.

When Jordanhill became an open club in the early 1970s, Carswell, an uncompromising lock who relished the unglamorous chores, joined a pack led by Mighty Mouse, Ian McLauchlan and which also featured future Scotland coach Richie Dixon and another Scotland cap Gordon Strachan in the back-row. Out on the wing was another Scotland cap, Lewis Dick.

The Jordanhill coach was Bill Dickinson, a role he also performed for Scotland.

Richie Dixon led the tributes to his fellow forward. “He was a great team-mate, a fierce warrior on the field, but an absolute gentleman off it.”

Dixon presented Carswell with his Scotland cap in February 2024 at a special ceremony organised by Scottish Rugby and Jim’s family at the care home in Cheltenham, where he was being cared for whilst living with dementia.

A mechanical engineer by profession, Carswell’s employment took him as far north as Inverness and then south, moving to Nottingham in 1989.

His funeral will take place at Cheltenham Crematorium, Bouncers Lane, Cheltenham, GL52 5JT on Thursday 27 August at 1pm.

Scottish Rugby extends its sincere condolences to Jim Carswell’s family and many friends.