John Peter Scott was a back row forward, he played most of his club rugby for Cardiff RFC joining the Blue & Blacks in 1978. Educated at Heles School ‘Scotty’ went on to play for Exeter before making his debut in September 1978 against the East District. During that season he was part of the Blue & Black team that narrowly lost to the All Blacks.
Scotty was made Cardiff RFC captain the following year and presided over one of the greatest cup periods in the Club’s history, winning the cup on five occasions in the 80s – 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1987. In all he made 268 appearances being on the winning side 200 times. His first try came in his third games at Bristol and in all he scored 36 tries, most of them from the back of a dominant scrum.
Scotty was a well-respected member of the Blue & Blacks team and a firm fan’s favourite, he eventually hung up his boots in April 1988 in a game against Rosslyn Park.
On the International scene Scott won 34 England caps between 1978 and 1984, he formed a strong partnership with No. 9 Steve Smith. He also roomed with Smith while on international duty. He played in all four games in England’s 1980 Grand Slam winning team. He also played for a World XV on 9 August 1980 against Argentina in Buenos Aires, losing 36–22
John Scott was in the same mould as England team-mate Roger Uttley in that he could play in either the second or back row. He played three times at lock forward whilst earning thirty-one caps in his favoured position of Number Eight. He was also one of a number of Englishmen of his era to play for a Welsh club along with the likes of Tony Swift and Maurice Colclough. Colclough and Swift both played for Swansea.
His international debut came in 1978 at the age of 23 in a defeat by France, though England did achieve respectability that year by winning two of their four matches. He played in all four of matches of the 1979 season, one as a replacement, and England ended with a record of one win, one draw and two losses. However, with the exception of the last quarter of an hour against Wales where they conceded four tries, England performed well, particularly up front.
J.P. Scott was inducted into the Cardiff RFC Hall of Fame in 2003
| Season | P | W | D | L | Try | Con | Pen | DG | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978/1979 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 1979/1980 | 38 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 1980/1981 | 26 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 1981/1982 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1982/1983 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 1983/1984 | 31 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1984/1985 | 31 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 1985/1986 | 30 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 1986/1987 | 21 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1987/1988 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Total | 268 | 200 | 7 | 61 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 144 |
To view John Scott’s full record please click here