John Dods (rugby union)

John Dods

Full name	John Henry Dods
Date of birth	(1875-09-30)30 September 1875
Place of birth	Glasgow
Date of death
Place of death	Cromarty Firth
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Forward
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
	Edinburgh Academicals London Scottish Durham City
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1895–1897	Scotland	8	0

John Henry "Harry" Dods (30 September 1875 – 30 December 1915) was a Scottish rugby union player. He was capped eight times for Scotland between 1895–1897. He also played for Edinburgh Academicals. He was the brother of Francis Dods who was also capped for Scotland.

Dods was killed along with his wife and three children, whilst on board HMS Natal, which suffered a series of explosions, killing hundreds of people.

Rugby career

Following the trials match on 28 December 1894, Dods was again selected for Scotland, to play against Wales on 25 January 1895.

International appearances

Opposition	Score	Result	Date	Venue	Ref(s)
Wales	5–4	Won	26 January 1895	Edinburgh
Ireland	6–0	Won	2 March 1895	Raeburn Place, Edinburgh
England	3–6	Won	9 March 1895	Richmond
Wales	6–0	Lost	25 January 1896	Cardiff
Ireland	0–0	Draw	15 February 1896	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
England	11–0	Won	14 March 1896	Glasgow
Ireland	8–3	Won	20 February 1897	Powderhall, Edinburgh
England	12–3	Lost	13 March 1897	Manchester

Death

On 30 December 1915, Dods, his wife and three children were aboard HMS Natal, guests of the ship's captain Eric Back. The ship, a Warrior Class cruiser, part of the Second Cruiser Squadron, was lying at anchor in the Cromarty Firth, in the north of Scotland. A series of explosions on board caused the ship to capsize with the loss of hundreds of lives, including those of Dods and his family.

See also

• List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War

External links

• John Henry Dods at ESPNscrum
• Commonwealth War Graves database
• An entire team wiped out by the Great War (The Scotsman)