Rowland Fraser (Thiepval 80)

Rowland Fraser (10 January 1890 – 1 July 1916) was a rugby union player, who played as a forward for Scotland, and also for Cambridge University RFC.

Born in Perth, Scotland, he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1908, where he played in the Varsity Matches of 1908, 1909 and, as captain, 1910. He was selected to play for Scotland in 1911, losing all games of the Five Nations Championship.

At the start of the First World War, he was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade, and was eventually promoted to Captain in November 1915. Soon after getting married in June 1916, his regiment participated in the Battle of the Somme, and he was killed in action on the first day, hit by a bullet and shrapnel. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme like Eric Milroy.

Rowland Fraser was born in Perth, Scotland on 10 January 1890. He attended Merchiston Preparatory School from 1900 to 1903, then Merchiston Castle from 1903 to 1908, before going up to Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Rugby career :
Fraser was selected to represent Cambridge University RFC in the Varsity Matches of 1908, 1909 and, as captain, 1910. The first of these was a draw, but Cambridge lost the next two. He was then picked to play for Scotland in 1911, playing his debut against France. Scotland lost all four games of the 1911 Five Nations Championship, and was the first international side to be defeated by France 15-16. Fraser and Frederick Harding Turner were the only two forwards to play in all four. . According to E. H. D. Sewell, the contemporary rugby journalist, he was not to blame for his lack of wins, being a "hard-working [forward]... a good dribbler, and a magnificent tackler."