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John Jeffrey (born 25 March 1959) is a Scottish former rugby union player, coach and administrator. He won 40 caps for Scotland, and was part of the team that won the Grand Slam in 1990. After retiring as a player he was a coach and administrator.

Early life

Jeffrey was educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose and Merchiston Castle School. Jeffrey owns a farm in the Borders. His nicknames were "The Great White Shark" and "JJ".

Playing career

Jeffrey played for Kelso and South of Scotland.

He was capped by Scotland 'B' 3 times between 1983 and 1984.

He won forty caps for Scotland between 1984 and 1991, making him, at the time, Scotland's most capped flanker. He scored 11 tries, another Scottish record at the time, shared with back-row colleague Derek White.

Journalist Richard Bath described him as "one of the most galvanising sights in Five Nations rugby throughout the 1980s and early 1990s."

In 1988, after playing football with the Calcutta Cup along Princes Street in Edinburgh with England's Dean Richards, Jeffrey received a six-month ban from the Scottish Rugby Union. Richards received a one match sentence from the English Rugby Football Union. The trophy was severely dented, and cost hundreds of pounds to repair. Jeffrey later admitted to having been drunk at the time of the incident: "There was no doubt it was us. It was a mix of alcohol and high jinks. I think I had sobered up a bit by the time I got back to the hotel. I remember looking at the cup and thinking, 'hmmm, we could be in a spot of bother here'."

Jeffrey was selected for the British Lions' 1989 Tour of Australia.

He was a part of the Scotland team that won the Grand Slam in 1990.

During the 1990 Hong Kong Sevens, Jeffrey played for Scotland 7s, but when they were knocked out, he went on to play for Wales 7s as they were suffering from too many injuries.

Later career

Jeffrey was involved in coaching the Scotland youth teams. He has commentated on rugby games for the BBC.

He was a member of the (now World Rugby) Council (previously the International Rugby Board) and head of referees since 2010.

In December 2020 Jeffrey was appointed as chairman of the Scottish Rugby Board. In December 2022 Scottish Rugby announced that Jeffrey would stand down as chairman in May 2023 but would remain on the board.

In 2024 Jeffrey put himself forward as a candidate for the charirmanship of World Rugby. His candidacy was not supported by the Scottish Ruby Union, and he subsequently resigned as president of the Six Nations and as a board member, council member and vice-chairman of World Rugby.

References

1. "John Jeffrey handed Moredun honorary fellowship". The Courier (Dundee). 16 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
2. ^ Bath, p141
3. McMurtrie, Bill. "Ban on Jeffrey over Calcutta Cup affair". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
4. "Six Nations 2013: The drunken night when Dean Richards and John Jeffrey trashed the Calcutta Cup". 31 January 2013. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
5. Hands, David (2 April 1990). "Fijians perform in a way unmatched even by All Blacks". The Times. London, UK.
6. "John Jeffrey appointed chairman of the Scottish Rugby board". The Scotsman. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
7. "Scottish Rugby begin hunt for new chair but John Jeffrey to remain on board". The Scotsman. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

Sources

1. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1)

External links

• John Jeffrey on Sporting Heroes
• A tribute to John Jeffrey in The Scotsman newspaper
• John Jeffrey at ESPNscrum

v t e Four Home Unions XV – 1990 Four Home Unions v Rest of Europe
Forwards	B C Moore  England M Griffiths  Wales P J Ackford in bio  England D F Cronin in teamsheet  Scotland N P Francis  Ireland J Jeffrey  Scotland P J Winterbottom  England N P Mannion  Ireland J A Probyn  England K S Milne  Scotland D J Turnbull  Scotland D M B Sole  Scotland
Backs	S M Bates  England A G Hastings  Scotland A G Stanger  Scotland W D C Carling  England J C Guscott  England R Underwood  England C R Andrew  England R J Hill  England C H Chalmers  Scotland
Coach	I R McGeechan  Scotland

• 1959 births
• Living people
• British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland
• Kelso RFC players
• Male rugby sevens players
• People educated at Merchiston Castle School
• People educated at St Mary's School, Melrose
• Rugby union flankers
• Rugby union players from Kelso
• Scotland 'B' international rugby union players
• Scotland international rugby sevens players
• Scotland international rugby union players
• Scottish rugby union coaches
• Scottish rugby union commentators
• Scottish rugby union players
• South of Scotland District (rugby union) players
• 1987 Rugby World Cup players
• 1991 Rugby World Cup players