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Sloan kicks a well-judged penalty

We continue our series of early sporting memories with volunteers and staff with a remarkable recounting of Brian Sloan’s rugby days.  Brian is our Development Director and we knew he was a keen sportsman but were nevertheless rather surprised to learn of his newsworthy rugby exploits.  

Brian, where did it all start? 

I come from a sporty family and was fortunate enough to be introduced to most sports from an early age but primarily football, rugby and golf.  When I was in my third year at senior school, Keil School in Dumbarton, my rugby coach there encouraged me to take the game more seriously which I did.  We had a good school team that year and almost went unbeaten for the whole season just losing one game.  I went on to captain the school 1st XV in my final year, and rugby became my main sport.  

(Below is a team image of Brian’s team when he was captain – can you find him in the header photo?) 

Did you keep up your interest in Rugby after school days? 

When I left school in 1980, I moved to Edinburgh and joined Edinburgh Wanderers.  At the time Wanderers were one of the top rugby clubs in Scotland.  You can’t imagine my delight, as an 18-year-old, to break into their 1st XV and given the club’s strong fixture list, this provided me with the opportunity to play against many of the Scottish internationalist and British Lions of that era.  

Wow, Brian we are impressed indeed.  Do you have any special memories of that time? 

One memory that sticks with me is a game against Boroughmuir where my opposite number that day was Bruce Hay, an established internationalist and British Lion, although sadly no longer with us.  I went to tackle Bruce when he was at full pace and it was literally like hitting a brick wall!  He then returned the favour when I ran at him and I was seeing stars! 

What happened next? 

Unfortunately, my career ended quite abruptly when I suffered a depressed skull fracture during a game when making a tackle.  This has left me with a dent in my head which means I can balance an egg on my head as a party trick!  

Sounds like a lucky escape. However, thanks to your Dad collecting newspaper clippings, we can see that you were indeed a talented player.  And to this day too.  We found this little gem from 2020 when you were playing Walking Touch Rugby and the try was described as “Brian Sloan shows a neat turn of ‘walk’ to score a fine try.” https://oss.scot/walking-rugby-aims-to-help-mental-health/ 

Would you say your passion for Rugby still lives on? 

Rugby has given me so many memories both as a player and a spectator and it still plays a big part in my life.  Some of my best friends to this day are teammates from when I played and I will never forget being present at Murrayfield when Scotland won the Grand Slam both in 1984 and 1990.  Will I ever witness that again? 

Thank you Brian for taking the time to share your passion for rugby and we promise not to ask you to show us your party trick at the next Christmas lunch!