The latest recipients are the brothers Simon and Julian Scott, the centre and scrum-half respectively, who represented Edinburgh Rugby and Stewart’s-Melville and also played in other representative teams including Scotland B.

The pair are being added to more than 50 players whom the Scottish Rugby Union Custodian Board decided to honour last month, primarily from Services and Victory internationals during and after the Second World War, and those who played in certain Scotland XV games against national teams, where the opposition awarded caps or where other senior Scotland teams were not playing simultaneously.

Scottish Rugby Union President, Colin Rigby, said: “The response to our retrospective caps’ initiative has been universally positive, especially for the players and families who now proudly hold cap status and with whom we are liaising to conduct cap ceremonies.

“We have also been contacted on behalf of other distinguished players who wore the thistle in non-cap matches at that time, asking us to consider certain such matches and those requests are being considered diligently and respectfully.

“The rationale behind the retrospective capping is to be inclusive, while, at the same time, protecting the integrity of a Scotland cap, so it is important that we look at the circumstances around individual games and remain true to our overall philosophy.”

Pictured above: Julian Scott in action for Edinburgh against Australia at Myreside, 1988.

Both Scott brothers toured Spain and France with Scotland in 1986.

They played for the Scotland XV that met a France XV in Tarbes on Wednesday 7 May that year.

The French team that night contained 14 players who were either capped then or subsequently, including some luminaries of the global game. France XV: Jean-Baptiste Lafond; Patrice Lagisquet, Pierre Chadebech, Serge Blanco, Patrick Esteve; Jean-Patrick Lescarboura, Rodolphe Modin; Philippe Marocco, Christian Rizon, Jean-Pierre Garuet, Francis Haget, Jean Condom, Marc Cecillon, Jean-Charles Orso and Laurent Rodriguez.

The Scots, who had defeated Spain 39-17 in the tour opener and had then lost 19-40 to a Cote Basque XV in their first game in France, achieved a highly creditable 16-all draw in Tarbes.

Scotland’s points (all scored by players who went on to represent the British & Irish Lions) came from tries by John Beattie (senior) and John Jeffrey. Peter Dods added one conversion – keeping in mind that tries were worth four points then – and two penalties.

Later, on that tour, Scotland lost to the French Barbarians 19-32 and beat a Tarn Select 26-7.

Pictured above: Simon Scott in action in the final of the Haig Sevens at Murrayfield, 1983. 

The updated retrospective cap list – complete with their unique Scotland cap numbers – now reads:

1141 – Alec Buchanan v England (SI)                      21 March 1942

1142 – Morris Dewar v England (SI)                         21 March 1942

1143 – ECK Douglas v England (SI)                         21 March 1942

1144 – SGA Harper v England (SI)                           21 March 1942

1145 – Eric Hunter v England (SI)                            21 March 1942

1146 – J Maltman v England (SI)                             21 March 1942

1147 – N W Ramsay v England (SI)                         21 March 1942

1148 – J B McNeil v England (SI)                            11 April 1942

1149 – D A Roberts v England(SI)                           11 April 1942

1150 – J M Blair v England (SI)                                27 February 1943

1151 – R Cowe v England (SI)                                 27 February 1943

1152 – Colin McLay v England (SI)                          27 February 1943

1153 – W B Biggart v England (SI)                           10 April 1943

1154 – Eric Grant v England (SI)                              10 April 1943

1155 – Mathew Kennedy v England (SI)                  10 April 1943

1156 – A E Murray v England (SI)                             26 February 1944

1157 – Jock McClure v England (SI)                        18 March 1944

1158 – Henry U’ren v England (SI)                           18 March 1944

1159 – Drew Barcroft v England (SI)                        24 February 1945

1160 – Jim Henderson v England (SI)                      24 February 1945

1161 – R M McKenzie v England (SI)                       24 February 1945

1162 – J B Nicholls v England (SI)                            24 February 1945

1163 – Jake Thom v England (SI)                             24 February 1945

1164 – C Wilhelm v England (SI)                              24 February 1945

1165 – E Melling v England (SI)                                17 March 1945

1166 – John Anderson v New Zealand Army (VI)     19 January 1946

1167 – J Kirk v New Zealand Army (VI)                    19 January 1946

1168 – Kenneth Wilson v England (VI)                      16 March 1946

1169 – Ian Murchie v Argentina                                13 September 1969

1170 – Arthur Orr v Argentina                                   13 September 1969

1171 – Bruce Laidlaw v Argentina                            27 September 1969

1172 – David Ashton v Japan                                   25 September 1976

1173 – Jim Carswell v Japan                                    25 September 1976

1174 – Colin Mair v Japan                                        18 September 1977

1175 – Rob Moffat v Japan                                      18 September 1977

1176 – Stuart Johnston v Spain                                01 May 1986

1177 – Garry Waite v Spain                                       01 May 1986

1178 – Julian Scott v France Select                          07 May 1986

1179 – Simon Scott v France Select                         07 May 1986

1180 – Tim Exeter v France XV                                 26 September 1987

1181 – Jeremy Macklin v France XV                         26 September 1987

1182 – Ian Ramsey v France XV                               26 September 1987

1183 – David Butcher v Zimbabwe                           21 May 1988

1184 – Ruari Maclean v Zimbabwe                           21 May 1988

1185 – Stewart McAslan v Zimbabwe                       21 May 1988

1186 – Kevin Rafferty v Zimbabwe                            21 May 1988

1187 – Hugh Parker v Zimbabwe                              21 May 1988

1188 – Grant Wilson v Japan                                     28 May 1989

1189 – Mark Moncrieff v USA                                    18 May 1991

1190 – Ronnie Kirkpatrick v Canada                         25 May 1991

1191 – Ally Donaldson v Fiji                                      29 May 1993

1192 – Steve Ferguson v Fiji                                     29 May 1993

1193 – Nick Grecian v Fiji                                          29 May 1993

1194 – Gary Isaac v Fiji                                             29 May 1993

1195 – Robb Scott v Fiji                                            29 May 1993

1196 – Craig Redpath v Tonga                                  05 June 1993

1197 – Willie Anderson v Spain                                 05 December 1998

SI = Services International

VI = Victory International

One player who was included in our initial list – Flt Officer DD McKenzie (RAF and Merchistonians) who was spelled in that fashion from records of the 1945 Services International against England which Scotland won 18-11 in Leicester, has been removed from the retrospective caps list.

Further research revealed that he was one and the same David Douglas Mackenzie who won six caps for Scotland on the wing in 1947 and 1948 out of Edinburgh University and who was also selected as a member of the British track team at the 1948 London Olympic Games.