Gavin Hastings

Andrew Gavin Hastings, OBE (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 caps for Scotland, 20 of which as captain. He played for Watsonians, London Scottish, Cambridge University, Scotland and the British Lions. He twice toured with the British and Irish Lions, to Australia in 1989 and as captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand.

Gavin Hastings
OBE
Birth nameAndrew Gavin Hastings
Date of birth (1962-01-03) 3 January 1962
Place of birthEdinburgh, Scotland
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight14 st 3 lb (91 kg)
SchoolGeorge Watson's College
UniversityCambridge University, Paisley College of Technology - University of the West of Scotland
Notable relative(s)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Cambridge University
Watsonians RFC
University of Auckland		 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
- London Scottish ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Edinburgh District ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1986–1995
1989–1993		 Scotland
British and Irish Lions		 61
6		 (667)
(66)
Gavin Hastings
No. 15
Position:Placekicker
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career WLAF statistics
PAT:23/27
FG:0/1

Early life

Hastings was born in Edinburgh, and was educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh, Paisley College of Technology (now the University of the West of Scotland), and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read Land Economy and graduated with a BA in 1986.[1]

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He captained the victorious 1985 Cambridge University side, and during his sabbatical year he won the Gallaher Shield with Auckland University. In Scotland, Hastings played for Watsonians.

Provincial and professional career

Hastings played for Edinburgh District in the era before professionalism. When the top sides of rugby union turned professional in 1996, he was playing for London Scottish.

International career

Hastings captained the first Scottish schoolboys' side to win on English soil.

He made his debut for Scotland against France in 1986 and was a central figure in Scotland's 1990 Five Nations Grand Slam.

His final game was on 11 June 1995 against New Zealand in Pretoria at the quarter-finals of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.[2] By the end of that match he had scored 667 international points, a Scottish record that stood until surpassed by Chris Paterson in 2008.[3]

He captained Scotland on 20 occasions including at the 1995 World Cup.

He first played for the British and Irish Lions in 1986, against a Rest of the World XV, before playing in all three tests of the successful 1989 tour to Australia and against France in 1989. He was captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand, where the Lions lost the test series 2-1.

Administrative career

On 30 August 2007 he was announced as the chairman of the "New" Edinburgh professional rugby club.[4]

American Football career

In 1996, Hasting joined the Scottish Claymores an American Football team in the NFL Europe. He played a single season as a placekicker scoring 24 of 27 conversions but missed his only attempt at a field goal. Despite the Claymores winning the World Bowl, Hastings was released at the end of the season.[5]

Family

His younger brother Scott was also a Scotland international rugby union player. His son, Adam plays for Glasgow Warriors and also has represented Scotland.[6] His niece, Kerry-Anne represents Scotland at Hockey.[7]

His wife Diane, whom he married in 1993 was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease in 2003.[8]

His nickname is "Big Gav".[9]

Honours and awards

Hastings awarded an Honorary Blue from Heriot Watt University in 1995 for his contribution to sport at a national level.[10]

Hastings was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1993 for services to Rugby Union.[11]

Hastings was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2003 and later into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2013.[12]

References
  1. 'Cambridge Tripos', Times, 27 June 1986.
  2. Glover, Tim (11 June 1995). "Hastings makes a proud exit". Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  3. "Paterson Sets Sight On Hastings Record". Daily Record. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. Alasdair Reid (31 August 2007). "Gavin Hastings appointed chairman of Edinburgh". Telegraph.co.uk.
  5. "Hastings looks for a new kick". Independent. April 1996.
  6. "Scottish Rugby on Twitter".
  7. "Kerry-Anne Hastings follows in family footsteps with Scotland call-up". The Scotsman.
  8. "Gavin Hastings on his wife's battle with Parkinson's". Scotsman. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  9. Bath, Richard (1997). The Complete Book of Ruby. Seven Oaks Ltd. ISBN 1-86200-013-1.
  10. "Watsonians president McNish dies of heart attack". heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. "The New Year Honours: Mabbutt receives MBE: Awards for footballers from different eras". The Independent. 30 December 1993. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  12. "Gavin Hastings recalls big moments on IRB Hall of Fame induction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
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