The former Scotland and British and Irish Lions player Ernie Michie has died at the age of 88.
Michie, who was born in Aberdeen on November 7 1933, won 15 caps for Scotland between 1954 and 1957.
He was also a member of the British and Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1955.
The powerful lock didn’t feature in any of the Tests against South Africa but made 11 appearances in the red jersey during the tour. He was only 21 at the time and the second youngest member of the Lions squad.
Michie brought his bagpipes to South Africa and would pipe the Test team onto the pitch.
“Why shouldn’t I have taken my pipes, it made sense to me,” Michie told The Scotsman in an interview in 2015.
He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and went on to become a key member of the first XV.
He made his debut for North of Scotland as a teenager before going on to be capped by Scotland while at Aberdeen University.
Michie was in the Scotland side that ended a dismal run of 17 successive defeats over a four year period with a 14-8 win against Wales in 1955.
Scottish Rugby is saddened to hear of the death of former Scotland lock Ernie Michie. He passed away on Saturday night aged 88.https://t.co/Ac6t0VBtoq
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 16, 2021
Speaking about that encounter six years ago, Michie told Scottish Rugby: “I was certainly conscious of Scotland having lost over all these years.
“It was a funny season. I was injured at the start of it. The SRU organised an extra trial (match) and the reason was that Scotland had been beaten so badly by France in Paris.
“I was invited to this trial, and I played in the Whites and when the Scotland team was selected for the Wales game, I was lucky enough to be in the side.
“We came together on the Thursday afternoon and had our tea. The Friday afternoon was the only time we trained as a team.”
He added: “I can remember (Scotland wing) Arthur Smith’s try. Arthur got around his man. He did not look as if he was going very fast, but he was a beautiful runner with a long stride.
“He ran virtually the whole length of the field and he kicked ahead just at the end, because he thought he was going to be tackled, regathered and went over in the corner.”
Michie’s only international try came in a 14-10 defeat against Ireland in Dublin in 1956.
After featuring for Aberdeen University, Michie went on to play for Aberdeen Grammar FPs, the Army – during his service in the Royal Engineers – Leicester, London Scottish and Langholm.
The club are sad to announce the passing of former player Ernie Michie.
For more about this remarkable man see the news article on the website. https://t.co/vPaDlPsIpI— Highland Rugby Club 🦅 (@HighlandRFC) November 16, 2021
He helped Langholm to the double of unofficial Scottish champions and Border League winners in 1958-59.
Michie, who worked as a district officer for the Forestry Commission, represented the Barbarians on seven occasions, including their North America tour in 1957 ,scoring a try in a big victory over British Columbia.
He moved to Inverness in the 1960s and became heavily involved at Highland Rugby Club.
In a tribute on the Highland RFC website, Ian Nixon, a former club president and teammate of Michie, said “Ernie was the most modest guy I’ve ever met, as whilst rugby was always the first topic of conversation, his own achievements – of which there are many – were never brought up.”
He moved to Dornoch in the 1970s and helped start a rugby club in the town.