Obituary: Ian McLauchlan

Scottish Rugby is immensely saddened to learn of the death yesterday, 20 June, of former Scotland captain, Past President of the SRU and British & Irish Lions loosehead prop, Ian McLauchlan OBE. He was 83.

Known throughout the rugby world as Mighty Mouse, Ian McLauchlan displayed characteristics in spades that made him the ultimate rugby warrior.

He was brave. He captained Scotland against England in 1973, just a fortnight after he had broken a bone in his leg against Ireland.

He was loyal, giving 60 years of service from his first cap at Twickenham in 1969 to his last Scottish Rugby Board meeting in 2019.

He was a trail-blazer, the first former pupil of Ayr Academy and first student of Jordanhill College to be capped for Scotland. His skills in open play were also ahead of their time. When he made his Scotland debut in mid-March 1969, he had already scored 13 tries for his club that season.

His strong scrummaging technique, encouraged by Bill Dickinson at Jordanhill and Scotland – the man in the quaint parlance of the 1970s known as “advisor to the captain” – earned him the nickname of “Mighty Mouse”.  At a weight of 14st 6lbs when he won his first cap, McLauchlan was regularly able to burrow under heavier tight-head props, thus destroying opposition set-piece in an era when scrums were much more prevalent in the game.

He was fun.  Ian simply loved rugby. In less regimented times, he would speak with relish of playing midweek matches in Wales or Sunday fixtures in Ireland, simply because he adored the game. His sense of humour was utterly infectious, if not always politically correct!

I often wonder what joke he’d cracked when I saw a gloriously joyful photograph of Mouse and Scottish Rugby’s patron, HRH The Princess Royal, who was roaring with laughter!

Fellow former Scottish Rugby President and teammate of Ian’s for both Scotland and The British & Irish Lions, Andy Irvine, paid tribute, saying: He was some character and some player. He was smaller than most props he came up against but I never saw anyone get the better of him.

“He was so tough, almost indestructible. What a fantastic career he had for Scotland, and the Lions; it’s very, very sad.”

Pictured: Ian ‘Mighty Mouse’ McLauchlan in action for Scotland against New Zealand, 1978.

McLauchlan was born in Tarbolton, Ayrshire on 14 April 1942.

He first played in a Scotland trial in 1963 and made his debut for Glasgow District the same season.

A PE teacher, he learned of his first cap for Scotland while he was putting would-be skiers through their paces in the Highlands.

His international career spanned ten years, his final Scotland appearance was against New Zealand at Murrayfield in November 1979 at the age of 37.

In all, he won 43 caps for Scotland and was captain on 19 occasions, a record until over-taken by another world-class loose-head prop, David Sole.

He cemented his place as one of British rugby’s all-time greats, by becoming one of only five players to feature in all eight Test matches for the British & Irish Lions on their victorious tours to New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa in 1974.

His only Test try came in the first Test in Dunedin in June 1971 when he charged down an attempted New Zealand clearance to touch down, a vital moment in a 9-3 win.

McLauchlan taught at Broughton High School in Edinburgh and when he retired from playing had a brief spell in rugby journalism before setting up his own marketing company.

He became President of the SRU in seasons 2010/11 and 2011/12 during which Scotland’s men were unbeaten on two summer tours, Argentina  (2010) and Australasia (2012) and also enjoyed victories over South Africa and Ireland (away).

Pictured: Ian with Scottish Rugby Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, at a Scotland game in Paris, 2011.

He was also a strong advocate for the women’s game, supporting the team at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2010.

He served as a member of the Scottish Rugby Board from 2010-2019 and was a director of EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby), playing a pivotal role in the transition from the previous competitions overseen by ERC.

In 2013, he was inducted to Scottish Rugby’s Hall of Fame and in December 2017 he was awarded OBE in the New Year’s Honours List.

He also served as chair of the British & Irish Lions Trust; as trustee and chair of Scottish Rugby’s own charity, the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation; and as a director of the Hearts + Balls rugby charity.

McLauchlan was never a former player rooted in the past.  He readily recognised the differences in the “modern” game and would celebrate the achievements of current players as passionately as the formidable successes of his generation in the 1970s.

When then Scotland captain Stuart McInally ran 75 metres and outpaced England’s flying wing Jonny May to ignite Scotland’s spectacular fightback in the 2019 Calcutta Cup at Twickenham, McLauchlan marvelled at the stunning athleticism of a front-row forward.

I first met Ian McLauchlan having finished a school rugby game at Inverleith Park in Edinburgh in the mid-1970s.

He was an absolute hero of mine, Scotland captain, double British Lion, yet he was approachable and wanted to know how I enjoyed the game.  He gave me time.  I treasure his autograph to this day. Some 20 years later, he interviewed me before I got my first job at Scottish Rugby. Talk about an inspiration.

Ian McLauchlan left his home in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh after he had completed his 60-year stint in multiple guises with Scottish Rugby and settled on Islay, on where his wife, Eileen was born.

Eileen passed away in 2023 and Ian has had to endure challenges around his mobility in recent years.

Scottish Rugby extends its sincere condolences to Ian McLauchlan’s family and many friends.

His funeral will be held at 11am on Wednesday 2 July at the Round Church in Bowmore, Islay, to which all are welcome.