John Elders

John Elders

Elders as England head coach in 1973
Full name	John Elders
Date of birth	(1930-12-18)December 18, 1930
Place of birth	England
Date of death	3 May 2015(2015-05-03) (aged 84)
Place of death	Gosforth, England
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1959-1966 Novocastrians Rugby Football Club () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1953–1958 1958 Leicester Tigers Barbarian FC 144 1 (114) Teams coached Years Team 1972-1974 England

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John Elders (18 December 1930 – 3 May 2015) was an English rugby union player and coach. He played with Leicester Tigers between 1953–1958, scoring the third most tries in the 1950s for his club (38). Elders was also club captain for a number of seasons.

Elders coached the England team between 1972–1974. He guided England to their first ever away win against New Zealand, and also coached England through an unbeaten tour of South Africa. Elders played one game for Barbarian FC in the late 1950s.

Elders was the sports master at the Royal Grammar School between 1957–1982. Whilst teaching there he played and coached for Northern FC and Novocastrians Rugby Football Club. He joined Novocastrians whilst a teacher at the Royal Grammar School and was always an advocate for the club, helping bring many players to the club in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Elders captained Novocastrians Rugby Football Club from 1959–61.

He died on 3 May 2015, aged 84, after a long illness.