William Keith Linford Relph won four caps for Scotland throughout the 1955 Five Nations Championship.

He made his debut against France away but his first international appearance at Murrayfield was a landmark occasion.

The 14-8 victory over Wales on 5 February 1955, marked Scotland’s first win after a sequence of 17 successive defeats. And he followed that up three weeks later by sharing in the national team’s 12-3 triumph against Ireland.

Educated at Daniel Stewart’s College in Edinburgh, Relph played in the school first XV from 1945-47, being pack leader in both seasons.

He made his first XV debut for Stewart’s FP in 1951. In 1953, and, again, the following year, he represented Edinburgh against Northumberland , while his breakthrough international season also saw him hook for the capital in inter-district matches against the South and Glasgow, as well as play in three Murrayfield trials.

His final Scotland cap was in a narrow 6-9 loss against England at Twickenham.

Thereafter he continued to play in representative games and he captained his club to the Scottish championship in the 1957-58 season.

Bill Relph was also a gifted sevens player and was a pivotal figure in the Stewart’s FP team who won the Melrose Sevens in 1956.

Scottish Rugby extends its sincere condolences to Bill Relph’s family and friends.