Scottish Rugby Union Board

I was educated at Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow. I was a difficult, troubled young student, suspended twice from attending school – once for fighting and finally for throwing a half-brick through the Rector’s window.

Rugby saved me. I was a very talented player, the teachers and school took a real interest in me because of it. Without rugby and the discipline it gave me, I would not have achieved qualifications for entry into Glasgow University Law School.

Aged 19, I played for Glasgow U-23 and was in the Scotland U-21 squad. The same year I sustained a catastrophic knee injury. I had several operations but never played again. I was devastated!

My energies were devoted to my studies. I graduated as the best law student of my year and was immediately invited back to teach (part-time) which ultimately lead to becoming Chair of Banking at Glasgow (age 40).

I took up refereeing aged 24 and worked my way through the Scottish league structure. I reached the International Panel (top six exchange) and refereed in England, Europe and USA. My original knee injury returned and I ceased refereeing at 41.

I refereed Wales A -v- England A, numerous U-21 Internationals and the Women’s World Cup. However, my favourite games were top league games in Scotland.

My most difficult games – Agen -v- Grenoble (semi-final French Cup) Cumnock -v- Dalry (always) • Favourite Ground – Jed-Forest • Favourite fixture – West of Scotland -v- Stirling • Favourite player to referee – the late Scott Hastings • Least liked players – Can’t say (but any French scrum half, as usually very difficult)!

My approach to refereeing: I was there to let the game flow and just a privileged spectator. Discipline is so important to the game – be authoritative and consistent. Sense of humour essential and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Post-refereeing: For twenty years I was Chairman of the Discipline regimes for Scottish Rugby,  Six Nations and the European tournaments. I dealt with hundreds of cases, including the sport’s most notorious – Bloodgate. I travelled across the rugby world as a Judicial Officer, officiated at four World Cups and the Rio Olympics. I was awarded the final in three World Cups of which I am very proud. I appear in several players autobiographies – unfavourably!

I ceased these roles in 2019.

My business life:  I am the founding partner and current chairman of one of Scotland’s leading law firms – Harper Macleod LLP. The discipline and leadership as a player, the isolation and determination of being a referee and the skills of a judicial officer, “doing the right thing” as an outcome for the sport have been the grounding for the development of my law firm.

We were the first law firm in Scotland to set-up a Sports Law Unit based upon my various rugby experiences. Our Sports Unit is now the leading practice in Scotland. Association of Harper Macleod as the main sponsors (for ten years) of Glasgow Warriors is rooted in my own journey. Being associated to Glasgow Warriors has been a huge business success and personally very fulfilling.

Conclusion: Rugby has been a key driver and interest in my life. Being chairman of SRU is an enormous privilege and enables me, in a small way, to give back effort and energy to the sport that has been so good to me.

Being a custodian of the game for a short while is underpinned by the hope that generations to follow will enjoy the sport that has given so much to me.

Keith is a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered Director.  His roles as President and Custodian Director, combine two of his great passions: rugby and governance.

His executive career was in railways, building a business and major multi-disciplinary team on the planning and design of some of the world’s largest projects, visiting over thirty countries on business.  He then led major change programmes with train operators.

He sees his main skills and strengths as:

• Leadership
• Safety Management
• Corporate Governance
• Stakeholder Management
• Major Project Management
• Communication & Advocacy
• Teamworking & Team Building
• Sales & Business Development
• Strategy & Change Management

He is now a portfolio non-exec director. He has served on the Boards of twelve companies, chairing three.  As well as the SRU he is currently on the Boards of Dublin Bus, Scottish Autism and Crossrail International, chairing the latter.

In rugby he played for 50years and has been involved in administration for over forty years, including serving as President of his Club Haddington RFC for five years. He has been involved in rugby related charity work, notably helping develop rugby in Rwanda through administration support and funding since 2014.

Away from governance and rugby, he is happily married with two adult daughters.

Hazel’s association with rugby began in 1996 as a member of Dunfermline RFC. Over the years she has held several key roles within the Club, including Secretary from 2008 and the first female Club President 2015-2017.

Since 2018, she has served as the Midlands Representative on the SR Council and Club Rugby Board (CRB) and in August 2021 was appointed as the Council nominated Non-Executive Director on the SRU/SRL Board.

During these years, Hazel was a member of the Caledonia Region Competitions Committee and the Women’s Competition Committee and her role as a Trustee on the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation reflects her concern for player welfare.

As a past member of the Standing Committee on Governance (SCOG) Hazel was able to contribute to the introduction of new governance structures within the organisation.

All these positions have afforded Hazel a comprehensive understanding of the operational and strategic challenges that clubs face today.

In November 2024, Hazel was honoured to be elected as Scottish Rugby’s Vice President and become the Chair of the Club Rugby Board and a member of the Scottish Rugby Union Board.

Cheryl Black has spent her career in customer focused roles and is a passionate advocate of great customer service as a route to business success. Over the past 30 years she has gained a reputation for delivering this strategy through outstanding people engagement and was previously a Vice President of the Institute of Customer Service.

Building on a career in customer operations, including roles at Scottish Water, NTL, EDF and Orange, Cheryl joined Telefonica O2 UK in 2006 and, as Customer Service Director, was influential in achieving number one industry status for customer satisfaction throughout her tenure. In 2011 Cheryl left O2 to pursue a non-Executive career and has been a Non-Executive Director at Southern Water, Skipton Building Society, Fidelity UK, UNUM UK and NHS 24. Cheryl was also a board advisor at EDF (Nuclear Generation) Ltd and a Trustee of Telefonica UK Pension Trustee Ltd.

Cheryl is currently a Trustee of the Scottish Widows Master Trust and in December 2022 she joined the board of the Scottish Rugby Union as a Custodian Director. Cheryl is also a member of the Management Board of BATs rugby.

Cheryl has been a passionate rugby fan for the last 50 years and many members of her family have played, and continue to play, for clubs in various parts of the UK. Cheryl lives in Edinburgh and enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Colin Rigby served as the 130th President of Scottish Rugby from 2022 to 2024, bringing decades of experience and dedication to the sport. In addition to his presidency, he represents Scottish Rugby on the board of Celtic Rugby. His passion for rugby dates back to his playing days before becoming a referee and later transitioning into rugby administration.

Over the past 20 years, Colin has played a pivotal role in developing the rugby landscape at Stewart’s Melville RFC. Holding various volunteer positions, he contributed significantly to the club’s growth and development. His leadership qualities earned him appointments as Chairman and National 1 Council Representative, where he worked to strengthen club rugby and enhance the game at all levels. His commitment and vision saw him elected as Vice President of Scottish Rugby before assuming the presidency, allowing him to further influence the sport’s governance and future direction.

Beyond rugby, Colin is a Fellow of The Chartered Management Institute and is employed by IFS as their European and Latin America Regional Channel Director. He has previously held senior management and executive roles across various companies.

Colin is married to Christina and is a proud father of four children, a grandfather.

Alison has had a varied portfolio career, encompassing several executive and non-executive positions, all driven by her strong dedication to rural Scotland, agriculture, and economic growth. She merges strategic acumen with practical experience, having founded and managed her own businesses in agriculture, manufacturing, and business consulting.

Her experience has also led her to take on representative roles, including her past positions on the Scottish Government Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board and as Co-Chair of the National Council of Rural Advisors. Currently, she serves on the Board of Scotland Food and Drink, the NFU Mutual Scotland Advisory Group and as a Custodian Director of the SRU.

In her consultancy work, Alison leads initiatives focused on strategic and cultural change, drawing on her expertise in leadership, project management, stakeholder engagement, and team development. She is deeply passionate about nurturing teams and the individuals within them, currently expanding her role as a team coach and mentor. Her enthusiasm for rugby has inspired her to work with young athletes, developing programs designed to enhance their mental skills and cultivate supportive environments for their growth. She firmly believes that rugby presents a unique opportunity to support our young people to develop and thrive.

As a former Scotland rugby international with 49 caps, Stuart has spent his career immersed in high-performance environments—where teamwork, leadership, and accountability aren’t just values, but necessities. Spending 13 years in elite sport taught Stuart the importance of discipline, resilience, and continually striving for growth.

Today, Stuart is pursuing a new challenge: becoming a commercial airline pilot. Aviation demands the same focus, accuracy, and dedication as elite sport, and he is passionate about applying the lessons learned on the field to the skies.

Beyond rugby and aviation, Stuart enjoys spending time with family, playing golf and consulting on high performance.

Megan started playing rugby aged six at North Berwick Minis. She went on to represent Scotland 45 times, making her debut in November 2011 against the Netherlands, scoring 17 tries on the way.

She also has 20 appearances for the 7s squad helping Scotland 7s to qualify and then compete at their first ever Commonwealth Games, at the 2022 Birmingham games. She made her final appearance for Scotland Women against Wales during the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, bowing out in style after scoring two tries in the narrow pool stage loss to Wales.

In September 2023 she achieved another dream of representing the Barbarians Rugby Club in two matches against South Africa and Munster.

She now works for social inclusion charity School of Hard Knocks who use the values of rugby to change lives, alongside studying for a qualification in HR.  Megan has also taken on the role of Director of Women and Girls Rugby at Heriots Rugby Club. Since retiring from rugby, she has tried a number of sporting challenges and can confidently say marathon running is not for her.

Blair Stewart has enjoyed a long and successful career in finance from early actuarial and investment management experience to investment banking and latterly, management consultancy.  This has provided him with a comprehensive understanding of financial markets and all aspects of corporate finance. 

Blair has established a reputation for delivering exceptional results by simplifying and communicating complex financial concepts, evidenced by his inclusion in the Institutional Investor ‘Hall of Fame’ for financial analysis; an elite club of only 33 individuals across Europe awarded over the last 30 years.

Blair has proven expertise in engaging with and providing insightful support and guidance to executive management and boards and has developed an extensive network of contacts in the financial, investment and rugby worlds. 

Blair has a lifelong connection with the club game in Scotland and is steeped in grassroots rugby. He is a past player, board member and President of Musselburgh RFC; and has participated in various league forums and the Finance Working Group which provides input to Rugby Development and the Club Rugby Board. 

Blair was elected to the Custodian Board at the November 2025 AGM.