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You are here: Home » To 1986-97 Scottish and British Lion Scott Hastings
This Ten Questions idea is to ask a leading rugby personality; either a player, or from the the media or an administrator some questions which may prompt a response from them which we have not heard of before;
It must have been a great day in the Hastings household in Edinburgh on 17 January 1986. Two brothers from the same family made their test debuts on the same afternoon for Scotland. Gavin was the older by three years. He was fullback while Scott, the younger, was one of the centres. Both went on to become key members of Scottish and British rugby and to this day are strong personalities for the game.
Scott was a very sharp midfield player with excellent attacking skills while at the time his defence was as good as any back in the world. The spread of Scott's time in international rugby was over 13 seasons. He played 65 test matches in all and attended two Rugby World Cup events. He was also a British Lion, touring to Australia in 1989. There he played some of his sharpest rugby, playing in nine of the 12 tour games, including two tests against the Wallabies.
There is perhaps an insight into Scott with this quote on his twitter account heading; "I believe in depth of spirit in the heart of mankind. I have the will to be better tomorrow then I am today."
After his playing days concluded Scott's ebullient character has seen hm move effortlessly into the media. He has been a regular TV presenter and broadcaster in a number of areas over the last few years. He has become a regular on the IRB's World Sevens Series. He lives in Edinburgh.
My thanks to Scott for his willingness to open up to 'Ten Questions' for keithquinnrugby.com
A picture follows of Scott Hastings in action for his beloved Scotland.
In rugby it was Andy Irvine the great Scottish and Lions full back. A brilliant attacker he was my Scottish hero! In golf it was Jack Nicklaus – just wish I could have played golf like him!
I say to folk; New Zealand is like Scotland but the weather is better and I do love NZ but I was invited to the Turks & Caicos Island recently and that was pretty cool. My 2 favourite cities are New York and Hong Kong but I would not wish to stay.
I can sometimes come across as patronising (according to my 18 year old daughter) but do not know I am doing it.
Swearing – there is no need for it - and dropping litter! Not saying please and thank-you and to be polite and courteous – values in life that my parents taught me.
When I played for my rugby club Watsonians I’d always use the same peg. After 227 games and 12 seasons I managed to extract it off the wall and I still have it to this day!
Everyone dreams of playing for their country. At the age of 21 my 1st cap was pretty special as was my Melrose 7s winner’s medal. Melrose was where the game of 7s was founded and now that I commentate on the IRB Sevens World Series and have seen at first hand the explosion of this wonderful game, it gives me great satisfaction to have secured my medal from the place that invented the game!
My wife Jenny is a pretty important 'possession' if that's the term! We met at school and she has always supported me in everything I do but apart from her and of course my kids there are two other things that mean a lot to me.
Rugby players - well Scottish ones; they do not win many medals but my Melrose 7s medal is pretty special and alongside that medal on my mantelpiece at home sits a carved statue of a Lion. It's carved from green stone and I bought it in South Africa at the Rugby World Cup in 1995. It is a reminder to me of a fantastic tournament; my first safari at Mala Mala Game Reserve and a pat on the back to myself for playing for the British & Irish Lions.
Laughter with friends!
I treasure every day I am here and currently live the dream commentating on rugby and being involved in sport.
One of my teachers wrote in a school report that ‘Scott should try harder’. I do this every day of my life!
On this day he captained the AB test team for the 52nd time, thus passing Sean Fitzpatrick's old record of 51. NZ beat Australia by 23-22 in Sydney
GAGE, DAVEY
Wellington and New Zealand
A tough New Zealand utility back in the years before international matches were played, Davey Gage performed an astonishing feat of endurance on the 1888–89 New Zealand Natives world tour when he played in 68 of 74 matches in Britain – twice as many as some of his fellow team members. He was nicknamed ‘Pony’ because of his small size but enormous work-rate on that tour. In all games on tour (counting games in Australia and New Zealand) he appeared 82 times.
Gage toured Australia with the New Zealand team of 1893 and was captain of his country against Queensland at Wellington in 1896. None of the matches played was considered a ‘test’ match.
Gage is remembered for another role during the Natives tour. The team adopted ‘On The Ball’ as its team song and he gained a reputation all over Britain as being the player who would stand up, climb on a table and lead its singing. The song, written in New Zealand, became a hit all across the country and is a rugby song that has endured ever since.
What made Namibia's Rudi van Vuuren unique in Rugby World Cup history?
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