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Fran Cotton is here seen during a testimonial match in 1977 (Rugby Writer's kit)
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The son of a former rugby league player, Fran Cotton's philosophy
towards rugby, business and life in general was brilliantly simplistic.
At a young age Cotton worked out that, wherever one has a choice, it is
far preferable to be good at something than bad at it, and the only
sensible way of achieving that aim is to adopt a professional approach
in whatever you do. Thus, while many English rugby players in the early
1970s attempted to get by on natural ability and a few pints, Fran left
no stone unturned in ensuring that he was as physically and technically
prepared as possible. He was also helped by the fact that he was a
student of Loughborough College, and therefore had access to all the
latest expertise in fitness and physical conditioning. This meticulous
approach reaped rich rewards for Fran including 31 England caps, a
series win with the Lions and a Grand Slam in 1980. His fitness and
dedication aside, Cotton's biggest asset was probably his versatility
which meant that he could play at either loose or tight head with equal
proficiency.
He made his debut in England's Centenary year of 1971
against Scotland, a match that England eventually lost 26-6. That year
he also played in a 28-11 defeat by a President's XV and was put on
standby for the British Lions while they were touring New Zealand. Fran
did not play in any tests the following year, but claimed a notable
scalp by leading the North to a victory over the All Blacks at Otley,
the first time that an English province had beaten New Zealand. Fran
next saw action in the 1973 season when he played in all four matches of
the Five Nations, enjoying victories over Scotland and France. He was
also part of the side that stunned New Zealand 16-10 in Auckland and
also beat a weak Australian outfit 20-3 at Twickenham. (Jon Collins)
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The picture above of Fran Cotton was taken in 1974 by George Herringshaw. ©
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Despite their heroics against New Zealand and Australia the year before, England were unable to mount a credible challenge for the 1974 Five Nations Championship and finished bottom. Fran played in two matches, both of which were lost, 16-14 to Scotland and 26-21 to Ireland, and also missed out on one of England's best wins of the 1970s, a 16-12 defeat of Wales at Twickenham. However, he was selected for the British Lions tour to South Africa and played in all four tests of a winning series alongside Bobby Windsor of Wales and the Scot Ian McLauchlan. Originally Fran had gone out as a back up for loose head McLauchlan, but won the tight head berth thanks to his excellent understanding with Windsor.
Despite accusations that they were simply a forward orientated team, the '74 Lions rewrote the record books by winning 21 out of 22 matches and scoring no fewer than 729 points and 107 tries. They also won the test series 3-0 and might have made it a 4-0 clean sweep if Fergus Slattery's last minute try in the fourth test had not been disallowed. Later in the year Fran was part of the Barbarians side that took on New Zealand at Twickenham, but there was to be no repeat of the previous year's classic in Cardiff, and the match ended in a rather tame 14-14 draw. The following year Cotton was made captain and played in three matches of the Five Nations against Ireland, France and Wales, all of which ended in defeat. He was then injured and was replaced by Tony Neary for the win over Scotland and subsequent tour to Australia. Neary retained the captaincy for the 1976 season, but the only bright spot was another victory over Australia at Twickenham, after which England were again whitewashed in the Five Nations. (Jon Collins)
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Fran Cotton is pictured above on 10th. December 1977 by George Herringshaw. ©
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Under the captaincy of Roger Uttley, England began the 1977 Five Nations campaign well by winning both of their first two matches against Scotland and Ireland to prompt hopes of a strong Championship challenge. Unfortunately, it all went wrong at Twickenham against France when they slumped to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of a side who were themselves heading for a Grand Slam. With their confidence slightly dented, England then also lost to Wales in the final match of the Championship, thus missing out on a Triple Crown as well. However, Fran was once again selected for the British Lions and played in three tests after missing out to Phil Orr in the first match. The '77 Lions were generally regarded as being superior to their opponents up front, but the backs were unable to convert the possession won for them into tries and three of the four tests were lost. The second test was won 13-9 to level the series, but the third was lost 19-7 meaning that the Lions had to win in Auckland to square the rubber. Things were looking good when Fran was part of an excellent move also involving Steve Fenwick, Bill Beaumont and Graham Price to set up a try for scrum half Doug Morgan, but the All Blacks scored a second half try through Lawrie Knight and won 10-9. Aside from the series loss, the tour differed from its '71 and '74 predecessors in that team spirit was poor, and players were distracted by an increasingly intrusive press. Fran played in both of England's victories in 1978 against Scotland and Ireland respectively, but missed out on the defeats by France and Wales. (Jon Collins)
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This picture of Fran Cotton was taken on 15th February 1980 by George Herringshaw. ©
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Despite Fran's immense commitment to England's cause, he seemed destined to end his career devoid of honours. This sentiment was echoed by Cotton's British Lions colleague Gareth Edwards in his autobiography: "I used to look at Fran Cotton, remember how much he had done for Britain abroad, how much stick he had taken, how much he knew about the game and how superb he was technically, and think that he must have felt he was living a nightmare every year in an English jersey." However, the year of 1980 saw it all come together and for one glorious, isolated season England were able to call themselves Number One. Signs that England might just be very competitive in 1980 could be seen at the back end of 1979 when Fran played in the Northern Division's epic victory over the All Blacks at Otley, as well as England's 10-9 defeat by the same side a week later. Northern players made up the bulk of the 1980 Championship team, and this consistency of selection ensured that team spirit was always high.
After the Grand Slam triumph, Fran joined several of his England teammates in the British Lions squad to tour South Africa. Unfortunately, Fran was diagnosed with a heart condition early in the tour and did not play a test. His England career was soon to be over as well, for he limped from the field with a hamstring injury in the first game of the 1981 season, a match against Wales in Cardiff. His career may have ended prematurely, but his 31 appearances made him England's most capped prop. In retirement Fran set up the highly successful Cotton Traders clothing company with his former teammate Steve Smith and became an influential figure in the RFU. Fran also drew on all his experience from rugby and the business world to become an extremely effective manager of the British Lions on their victorious tour of South Africa in 1997. (Jon Collins)
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