Lorn Cowie

William Lorn Kerr Cowie was born in Glasgow on 1 June 1926. He was schooled at Fettes College in Edinburgh, where he played rugby at centre in the first XV. He went on to Cambridge University, where rowing was at first his sport of choice, but his studies were interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He graduated MA in 1949 and then took a law degree at the University of Glasgow.

Returning to rugby after the war, Cowie switched from the backs to the forwards and played mostly as a flanker. He played for, and captained, Kelvinside-West, a brief post-war amalgamation of Kelvinside Academicals and West of Scotland that addressed a shortage of players, and later played for West of Scotland. His displays earned him a place for Glasgow in the Inter-City match in December 1950, and he was selected for a national trial before injury ruled him out.

In 1952 his legal career took him to Edinburgh, where he joined Edinburgh Wanderers. Within months he was picked for Edinburgh in the Inter-City, a selection that caused some controversy because he had already represented Glasgow. He scored in that match, and a national trial followed. He made his Scotland debut as a back-row forward against England at Twickenham in the Five Nations on 21 March 1953, becoming Scotland cap number 649. Scotland were then in the middle of a run of 17 consecutive defeats and no further caps followed, but he continued to play for Edinburgh and the Wanderers and appeared for the Co-Optimists and Fettesian-Lorettonians. He later served as president of Edinburgh Wanderers in the early 1960s.

Cowie was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh in 1952 and served as an Advocate Depute in the Crown Office, prosecuting on behalf of the Crown. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1967. In 1977 he was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice with the judicial title Lord Cowie, and he sat as a judge of the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary until 1994. After leaving the Scottish bench he served as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Botswana from 1995 to 1998.

His daughter, Isabel Moloney, paid a warm tribute to him at his 100th birthday party, recalling that he had lived and breathed rugby as a young man before family life took precedence. His grandson Tom accompanied him out of the tunnel at Murrayfield during the stadium's centenary celebrations on 21 March 2025. At that event he struck up a friendship with the former Scotland and British and Irish Lions prop David Rollo, and the two were reported to be the last to leave the celebrations. He marked his 100th birthday on 1 June 2026 at an outdoor party with family and friends in Edinburgh.

Lorn Cowie died on Friday 23 October 2026, aged 100. Scottish Rugby announced his death on 24 October, describing him as its oldest former international player. The place and cause of death were not made public.

Keith Wallace, president of the Scottish Rugby Union, said that to see the sparkle in Cowie's eye at the Murrayfield centenary, as he met players, family members and referees from across the decades, underlined the joy he had from the sport, and that it had been a privilege to meet him and his family. Scottish Rugby extended its condolences to his family and many friends and said it would publish details of his funeral arrangements when known.

Cowie's life spanned almost the whole history of Murrayfield, and he was one of the last links to Scottish international rugby of the early 1950s. He was among the few players of his era to represent both Glasgow and Edinburgh at district level. In law he served for 17 years on the Scottish bench and later on the Court of Appeal of Botswana, and a tribute in The Offside Line described him as a highly regarded judge who carried out his duties with fairness and respect for all.