Tributes have poured in for Scotland great Scott Hastings who died on Sunday at the age of 61 after suffering from cancer.
The centre won 65 caps for Scotland in an 11-year international career that started in 1986 – playing 51 Tests with his fullback brother, Gavin – and was a member of the last Scotland team to win a Grand Slam in 1990.
He was also selected for the British & Irish Lions tours of Australia in 1989 and New Zealand in 1993.
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said Hastings “epitomised what it meant to play for Scotland, combining passion, confidence, and aggression”.
Former Scotland and Lions head coach Ian McGeechan said: “We came into the Scotland set-up, myself as coach, and Scott and Gavin as players, at the same time. We came in together and we grew together.
“I remember Scott on the Lions tours taking an absolute lead. He was so single-minded and determined about winning.
“He was very much your right-hand man, given what he did on the field. I still remember the Grand Slam game against England in 1990.
“There was his Lions teammate from the previous year, Jerry Guscott, in the England team, but Scott gave nothing away to him whatsoever.
“Whatever jersey Scott wore, he just made it better.”
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Former England hooker Brian Moore remembered his former Lions teammate while commentating for the BBC during the Women’s Six Nations match between France and England in Bordeaux.
“He was a roommate of mine on several occasions and he was a man I got to know very well … of huge integrity, honesty and empathy,” said Moore.
“As a player, his partnership with Jeremy Guscott was seminal to us beating Australia in 1989. One thing you always got with Scott, in extremis or when on top, he gave nothing less than his best. You knew he would never let you down for effort.
“Those who knew Scott will know what we have lost. Rugby is much the poorer for his passing but very much the better for his being.”
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Following his retirement as a player in 1999, Scott Hastings enjoyed a successful career as a rugby broadcaster.
Hastings revealed in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Scottish Rugby Union released a statement on behalf of his son Corey and daughter Kerry-Anne which revealed Hastings had died on Sunday due to complications arising from cancer treatment.
– AFP
Photo: David Rogers/Allsport
The post Rugby mourns Scotland great appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Tributes have poured in for Scotland great Scott Hastings who died on Sunday at the age of 61 after suffering from cancer.
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