Malcolm McGregor Cooper

Malcolm McGregor Cooper (17 August 1910 – 1 September 1989), commonly known as Mac Cooper, was a New Zealand-born agriculturalist and author; also known for being a Scotland international rugby union player, at the Flanker position.

Academic career

He was educated at Napier Boys' High School and then at Massey Agricultural College graduating a Bachelor in Agricultural Science in 1933. He then won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and obtained a Diploma in Rural Economy in 1935 and Bachelor of Literature in 1937. He married Hilary Margaret Cecilia Matthews in 1937.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Cooper played for Oxford University. He obtained 3 'Blues' playing against Cambridge University in 1935, 1936 and 1937.

Provincial career

He played for Scotland Possibles against Scotland Possibles on 15 December 1934.

He played for Scotland Probables against Scotland Possibles on 11 January 1936. He played again for the Probables in the following season, 19 December 1936.

International career

He was capped for Scotland twice in 1936.

Military career

During the Second World War Cooper served in the New Zealand Military Forces in North Africa and Italy rising to the rank of Major. After the war he decided to stay in Britain to work.

Family

He was born at Havelock North in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay on 17 August 1910, the son of Laurence Taylor Cooper (1872-1923), a farmer, and Sarah Ann McGregor (1869-1930). He was one of the couple's 7 children. He was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Massey University in 1972.

Publications

Profitable Sheep Farming (reprinted 1996) Profitable Beef Production (1984) Grass Farming (1973 reprinted 1979)