Gavin HASTINGS

Former British Lion and renowned rugby scribe Clem Thomas provided an apt description of fullback Gavin Hastings saying; "There is no man more respected for his abilities both on and off the field than this delightful Scot, who is the epitome of the rugby man; brave, resolute, adventurous and one who loves a party." Indeed, with 61 caps won between 1986 and 1995 and a national record of 733 points, there can be little doubt that the Watsonian is one of Scotland's best ever players, if not the best. His trademark was ultra reliable goal kicking and fearless tackling, but amongst his many other achievements he also scored 17 tries to place him third on Scotland's all time list on his retirement. At 6' 2" and weighing 15 stone, Gavin had the physical attributes to dominate at fullback and his power was reminsicent of JPR Williams at his best ten years earlier. Given his phenomenal talent and superbly athletic physique, it at first seems odd that Gavin was actually a very reluctant trainer, a trait he had in common with another great fullback of his era, Serge Blanco. However, Gavin was a man who saw little point in leaving his game on the practice field, and was the master at performing when it really counted. As a youth he showed his pedigree by becoming the first player to captain a Scottish schoolboys side to win in England and, in 1985, went on to skipper Cambridge University to victory in the Varsity Match. Full international honours came his way in 1986 when he displaced incumbent fullback Peter Dods in the Scotland side to face France at Murrayfield, joining his younger brother Scott in the process.

Gavin suffered the worst possible start to his career when he put the ball straight into touch from the kick off, a blunder which resulted in a try to the opposition. Lesser men would have crumbled, but Gavin showed his character by hitting back with a record six penalties to down the French 18-17. Later in the season Gavin also helped put England to sword at Murrayfield with a 21 point haul in Scotland's 33-6 win. A 10-9 win in Ireland in their final fixture (the picture above shows Gavin chipping ahead with Hastings jnr looking on during the game) left the Scots with six points from their four games. All in all it was a highly successful introduction to the international game and by winning three from four, Scotland had backed up their 1984 Grand Slam with a share of first place in the Championship. On a personal note Gavin's haul of 52 points was a Championship record, a fine achievement in his debut season. In a one off international against Romania later in the year Gavin then equalled his tally against England with another 21 point haul. (Jon Collins)

In 1987 Scotland turned in a creditable performance in the Five Nations Championship with two wins out of four and headed for the first World Cup in good spirits. Gavin shone with the boot in the group stages by scoring 27 points against Romania and 19 against Zimbabwe. However, a draw with France in the opening game and an inferior points difference put them in a quarter-final with New Zealand, the tournament favourites. The match was lost 30-3 with Gavin scoring Scotland's only points. After an average season in 1988, Gavin earned selection for the British Lions tour to Australia in 1989 and kept the fullback slot for all three tests. Hastings performed superbly during the rubber and scored 28 crucial points in what proved to be the narrowest of series victories. In 1990 Gavin then helped Scotland to win the Grand Slam when they beat England 13-7 at Murrayfield after grinding out wins in the first three matches. The Scots celebrated their win long and hard and treated fans to an amusing display at the Hong Kong Sevens a month later.

Standing in a line facing the stands, the Scottish players lifted their kilts in unison to reveal the words "GRAND SLAM WINNERS 1990" on their underwear! However, in 1991 Scotland were unsuccessful in their defence of the Championship, losing to France in Paris and overcome by a vengeful and determined England at Twickenham. The sides were destined to meet again in the World Cup later in the year, and Scotland were confident that having home advantage would pay dividends. However, in a typically gritty encounter, England gained more sweet revenge over Scotland with a 9-6 victory after Gavin had missed an easy penalty with the scores tied at 6-6. The Scots then lost 13-6 to New Zealand in the 3/4th play off during which Gavin administered one of the best tackles of the tournament, bundling a New Zealand opponent about ten feet into touch with a JPR Williams style hit. However, Gavin's involvement in World Cup 1991 didn't end there. He and the other Scottish players arrived at Twickenham on the day of the final dressed in the Green and Gold of Australia to cheer on England's opponents! (Jon Collins)

Following David Sole's retirement at the end of the 1992 tour to Australia, the captaincy of Scotland was given to Gavin Hastings. Gavin did not have the same fire and brimstone approach to leadership as his predecessors Sole or Finlay Calder, but his self belief and ability to instill confidence in others made him an effective skipper all the same. Following the 1993 Five Nations in which Scotland won two and lost two, Gavin was named as British Lions captain for the tour to New Zealand. He earned the honour at the expense of Will Carling, whose own stock had fallen thanks to England's surprisingly weak showing in the Five Nations. Contrary to popular opinion, there was little animosity between the two players on tour and claims that Hastings had personally decided to exclude Carling from the test side due to a personality clash were almost certainly false. Though the tour was fraught with difficulties on and off the field, it was a generally a happy visit down under and the Lions were desperately unlucky to go down 2-1 in the tests. Indeed, throughout the tour the Lions had to contend with suspect refereeing and typically aggressive performances from the provincial sides. Frequent injuries and mediocre displays by the mid week team meant that too many games were lost and this cannot have helped morale either. The squad suffered a huge blow early in the tour when talismanic lock Wade Dooley had to return home due to a bereavement. Worse was to come when Dooley's replacement, Martin Bayfield, was injured in a game against Otago, a match in which Gavin's brother Scott also suffered a depressed cheekbone. Chaos and confusion then ensued over Dooley's non return, an incident that united the players in resentment.

Gavin would later comment "It gave us something to bitch about at a low point during the tour." Come the first test the Lions overcame the injustice of a dubious try by Frank Bunce to take an 18-17 lead courtesy of Gavin's superb angled penalty into the wind. However, the All Blacks were awarded a ludicrous penalty in the last minute which was converted with ease by New Zealand's own "Mr Reliable" - Grant Fox. A hamstring injury put Gavin's participation in the second test in jeopardy, but coach Ian McGeechan insisted he play "no matter what". McGeechan reckoned that even if Gavin only lasted a minute, his presence would have a powerful psychological effect on the other players. Hastings in fact lasted the whole game and thanks to superb performances by Rob Andrew, Dewi Morris and all of the forwards, the Lions won 20-7. Unfortunately, the third test proved to be a match too far and the Lions were overwhelmed 30-12. Despite the loss of test series, the tour was a huge success on a personal level for Hastings who, unlike Phil Bennett in 1977, actually grew in stature with the added responsibility of the captaincy. He left New Zealand with a hatful of records including the most points by a player in the series (35), most penalty goals in a series (12), most penalty goals in a match (6), most points in a Lions Test career (66) and equalled Irishman Tony Ward's 1980 record of 18 points in a match. Ian McGeechan paid tribute to the skipper in his end of tour report saying "He is a competitor and on the field, when it mattered, he led by example; and in the end, when you are looking at a very professional approach from your top players, this more than anything else, significantly makes credible leadership." Later in the year both England and Scotland were given the chance to gain revenge when New Zealand toured the UK. England fared much the better of the two, defeating the Blacks 15-9, a week after the same side had torched Scotland 51-15 at Murrayfield. (Jon Collins)

In 1994 Gavin was awarded an OBE for his services to rugby, a fine achievement, but by no means his last in the game. On the field though, the Scots fared poorly, their only point in the Championship coming in a 6-6 draw with Ireland. That same season Scotland here hammered by eventual champions Wales and lost 15-14 to England at Murrayfield when John Callard sent over a last minute penalty. Gavin was inconsolable after the game having missed five penalties himself, though even then Gregor Townsend's late drop goal looked to have sealed it. In 1995 the Scots looked in much better form and won their first three games to set up a Grand Slam decider with England (the picture above shows Gavin during the game), a repeat of the sequence of 1990. Along the way Scotland had secured their first win in Paris since 1969 after twelve successive defeats when Gavin broke through the French defence on the stroke of full time to secure a 23-21 win. Before the match Hastings had commented that it would be nice to have something to watch in place of grainy footage of Jim Telfer's 1969 try scoring heroics! Sadly, there was to be no repeat of 1990 and Scotland spent most of the game defending, going offside and conceding penalties. An efficient England eventually took control of the match and won the end of season showpiece 24-12 thanks to Rob Andrew's kicking.

The Grand Slam may have slipped away, but with the exception of that last match, Scotland had performed with great credit and Gavin finished up with 56 points for the tournament, breaking his own record of 52 set back in his debut season of 1986. There was also still a World Cup to play for and once again Gavin led by example. In the group stages he put 44 points past the Ivory Coast and another 31 past Tonga, though Scotland lost 22-19 to France. Just as in 1987 the result of the France game was crucial and the Scots were matched up against New Zealand in the Quarter-Finals. Scotland were never competitive and lost out 48-30, but their performance was put into perspective when the All Blacks posted a similar score against England in the semi-finals, in even more emphatic style. The New Zealand match was Gavin's 61st and last for Scotland, his 20th as captain. At the time he was Scotland's most capped player, a record that brother Scott would eventually break himself in 1996. In retirement Gavin maintained his links with rugby through working in the media and carved out a new niche for himself in the business world as head of his own sports marketing company. (Jon Collins)