Tributes have been paid to Ayrshire rugby legend Peter Brown, who sadly passed away on Sunday aged 83.
Brown, affectionately known as ‘PC’ because his first two names were Peter Currie, was Troon born and bred, and rose through the ranks to captain the Scotland side.
Peter played in the school first XV at Marr College for three seasons before graduating to senior rugby with West of Scotland. Latterly, he joined the Gala club, for whom he contributed so much on and off the pitch.
Peter’s younger brother, Gordon, was equally “larger than life”. In Peter’s 27 Scotland caps, Gordon, joined him in 12 of the matches. “Broon frae Troon”, a veteran of eight Lions Test matches on the 1971 and 1977 tours to New Zealand and the 1974 tour to South Africa, pre-deceased Peter, passing away in 2001.
He won 13 caps at lock and 14 at No 8 and captained Scotland on 10 occasions. He was part of a winning Scotland team on 13 occasions, including a remarkable five victories over the Auld Enemy.
He also played a pivotal role in Scotland victories over South Africa and Australia and there was no greater endorsement of his endeavours than in Scotland’s 0-0 draw with New Zealand in 1964- when legendary All Black Colin Meads swapped jerseys at the end of the game.
Scottish Rugby said they were “saddened” with Peter’s passing.
In their own tribute they said: “Known as PC, Brown was an utterly irrepressible character, who did things his way, invariably with a smile on his face.
“These days, he might be labelled a “maverick”, but that would be a gross over-simplification. He gave so much to the game he loved and for him, life and rugby were there to be enjoyed.
“His father, Jock, was a goalkeeper with Clyde and Hibs, who was capped for Scotland and his uncle, Jim, emigrated to the United States and played for them in the 1930 football World Cup.”
Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, said: “PC was great company and his passion for Scottish rugby and the game in general always shone brightly. His exploits on the field have gone down in legend, being a key contributor in some famous Scotland wins during his international career.
“A goal-kicking captain playing in the forwards must have been a unique achievement before Jon Eales did something similar with the Wallabies a few decades later.
“He continued to be involved with rugby after he retired from playing, being involved with Gala then on the international stage once again with his work on various disciplinary panels over the years. He will be sadly missed.”
In a statement, Peter’s family said: “Peter underwent several years of chemotherapy treatment for myeloma, supported wonderfully by the haematology team at the Western General (hospital in Edinburgh). Earlier this week, he was admitted to the Royal Infirmary (in Edinburgh) following a fall at home. Peter passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, January 12.
“The family would like to express their gratitude to the Acute Medical Unit for their care and compassion.”