Bristol Bears regret to announce the death, just four days after the celebration of his 82nd birthday, of Colin McFadyean. A brilliant and versatile player, capable of excelling as a centre, winger or outside half, he achieved international fame as a member of Moseley, but he represented Bristol early in his career and later became the club’s first professional Director of Coaching. He had been in poor health for some time.
Colin William McFadyean was born in Devon, but he was educated at Bristol Grammar School where he played at outside half and represented Bristol Public & Grammar Schools. In 1962 he was a member of the BGS squad which reached the semi-final of the Rosslyn Park Sevens, and earlier in the same year he was involved in an extraordinary match at the Grammar School’s Golden Hill ground. On February 24th, with St Paul’s College Cheltenham having cried off their fixture with Bristol United, the United arranged to play Bristol Grammar School instead. One of the school’s forwards, future Bristol player David Woodward, left the field with an injured eye after just five minutes (a substitute was allowed in the second half) but thanks chiefly to the brilliance of Colin and his half back partner David Perkins, another future Bristol player, the United were given the fright of their lives. They eventually scraped home by just two points to win 13-11, and Colin was narrowly wide with a conversion attempt late in the game which might have achieved a draw.
Colin was already known to the Bristol club by this time. He had made his debut for the United as a schoolboy at the end of the previous season, scoring a try in a 33-8 Memorial Ground victory over Chippenham. At the end of the 1961-62 season he made his Bristol first team debut on the wing at New Brighton in the final game of the season. He also went with Clifton on their end-of-season tour to France, scoring two tries on his debut against Stade Marmande. On leaving school he went to study at Loughborough Colleges, but despite only being available during the holidays he remained a Bristol player during his time as a student. In all he made 11 first team appearances for Bristol and five for the United, scoring four first team tries and one for the United. He also made his County Championship debut for Somerset and played for Western Counties against New Zealand at the Memorial Ground in December 1963. His final Bristol game was at Coventry in April 1965.
While he was at Loughborough, Colin captained the rugby XV and played for the UAU. He led Loughborough to victory over Bristol in a floodlit game at the Memorial Ground, and in 1965 he was the captain of the Loughborough squad which lost to London Scottish in the final of the Middlesex Sevens. After qualifying as a teacher Colin got a post in the Midlands, and he joined Moseley, where he was to play for the rest of his senior career. In 1966 he was selected for his England debut against Ireland at Twickenham. Colin scored his first points for England with a drop goal against Scotland in the same year, and in 1967 he scored a memorable last minute try to snatch victory for England in Dublin. He went on to score twice that season against Scotland, but he was less fortunate against Wales when his high kick was caught by teenage full back Keith Jarrett, who ran up the touchline to score a spectacular try as part of a personal haul of 19 points in a remarkable Welsh victory.
Colin remained in the England side for eleven consecutive games. He played for England against Australia and New Zealand in 1967, as well as touring Canada with England and appearing in an uncapped test there. In 1968 Colin was appointed as England’s captain for the first two games of the Five Nations Championship. Both matches were at Twickenham and both were draws. Colin scored a try against Wales on his debut as captain, and England’s other try-scorer in this game was Bristol scrum half Bill Redwood. Strangely, Colin was not picked for England again after his two matches as captain, so he held the unusual distinction of being an England captain who never won and never lost a game. In his eleven England games he played nine times in the centre and twice on the wing.
In 1966 Colin was selected for the Lions tour to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. He played in all four tests in New Zealand, once on the wing and three times in the centre, and he scored a try in the final test. He also scored a try in the game against Canada, and altogether he appeared in 23 matches on tour, scoring eight tries and a conversion. He suffered a broken nose in the Lions’ match with Canterbury.
Colin kept his Somerset affiliation for some years after he left Bristol and captained the county. He was in the Western Counties side which defeated Australia at the Memorial Ground in1967, and he also played for the South of England against New Zealand at the same venue later in the year. Later, he transferred his county allegiance to the Midlands, playing for Midland Counties West against Fiji in 1970 and coming on as a replacement for the same side against South Africa earlier the same year. He played for Staffordshire and was a member of the side which won a surprise victory over Gloucestershire at Burton-on-Trent in the final of the 1970 County Championship. With Moseley, he was a member of the side which lost to Gloucester in the first RFU Knockout final in 1972, and he played in the Moseley side which defeated Fiji in the club’s Centenary season.
In 1990-91 Colin was appointed as Bristol’s first professional Director of Coaching. Despite a rather disappointing season overall of 21 wins in 39 games, there were signs towards the end, particularly during a thrilling if narrow defeat at Newport, that Bristol were starting to play an exciting and open brand of rugby. But Colin left the club at the end of the season after just nine months, stating that he found it was not possible to carry out his duties in the way that he would have wished. Bristol’s loss was Cleve’s gain, and he spent a happy time coaching there. He also coached for a while at Moseley.
Colin McFadyean was an outstanding rugby player, noted for his speed, his anticipation, his tactical nous and his sound defence. He enjoyed keeping in touch with his playing contemporaries at Bristol Grammar, Bristol and Loughborough, and representatives of all three were present at his recent birthday celebration at the care home where he was living. The event featured filmed action of his exploits with the Lions, a message from World Cup final referee Ed Morrison and a video message from Maro Itoje. All at Bristol Bears send their sincere sympathy to Colin’s family and friends at this very sad time.
