title: George Thomson (rugby union)
text: # George Thomson (rugby union)
  
  George Thomson was a Scottish rugby union player. He was the 96th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.
  
  ## Rugby Union career
  
  ### Amateur career
  
  He played for Watsonians. He played sevens for Watsonians in the 1946 Jed-Forest Sevens.
  
  He played for a Scottish Services XV in 1944.
  
  ### Administrative career
  
  Thomson became the 96th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the standard one year from 1982 to 1983.
  
  ## Military career
  
  He was a sub-Lieutenant in the Second World War. He won a Distinguished Service Cross for his work on Arctic convoys.
  
  ## Death
  
  Thomson died in 2005.
  
  Jim Telfer described Thomson as 'the father of (rugby union) coaching in Scotland'. He went to say:
  
     We lost a great man when George died in 2005. It was his enthusiasm of developing a professional, cutting edge to rugby coaching that inspired me. Intriguingly he was fanatical about the development of the ruck as part of the Scottish armoury and, believe it or not, occasionally I had to dampen down his enthusiasm.
  