Obits in Brief: Duncan Paterson

The rugby union player Duncan Paterson, who died on 23 December aged 66, was the former Scotland scrum-half who won 10 caps between 1969 and 1972 and later became national team manager.

The Gala half-back was a member of the Scotland side that defeated England twice on successive weekends in 1971. His try and drop-goal were key scores in a 16-15 win at Twickenham – Scotland's first there since 1938 – and a week later, in a match at Murrayfield to mark the centenary of the fixture, he featured in a 26-6 victory.

After retirement he ran a knitwear and textile business, and following Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam success he was appointed team manager. He oversaw the side's march to fourth place at the 1991 World Cup and he was also in charge in South Africa four years later.

Paterson, whose nephew Chris is Scotland's most-capped player and record points-scorer, also served on the general committee of the Scottish Rugby Union, but stepped down in 1998 after widespread criticism for his role in creating four pro-teams and then merging them into just two sides as Scottish rugby struggled to cope with the advent of professionalism.

Jim Telfer, Paterson's captain when he made his Scotland debut, said, "Dunc was hounded out of the SRU by clubs and the media, who did not understand what was going on. It was a tremendous loss."