Sports SpeakersGavin Hastings OBE is a former Scotland Rugby Captain.
Born in Edinburgh, January 1962, Gavin Hastings became the first player to captain a Scottish schoolboys side to win in England.
In 1985, he captained Cambridge University to victory in the Varsity Match.
Gavin Hastings went on to win 61 caps for Scotland including 20 as Captain.
He also was a member of the British and Irish Lions in 1986, against a Rest of the World XV, before playing in all three tests during the 1989 tour to Australia and against France in 1989. Gavin was captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand.
He scored over 700 points in Test Rugby including kicking 6 penalties on his debut for Scotland in 1986 against France which they won by 18 points to 17.
Gavin Hastings retired following his third Rugby World Cup in 1995.
His contribution to rugby was acknowledged with an OBE in the 1994 New Years Honours List.
In 1996, Hastings made an initially controversial decision to accept an invitation to switch to American football with the Scottish Claymores of the WLAF. Hastings’ brief spell in his new code was a successful one, as the Claymores won that year’s World Bowl at the home of Scottish Rugby, Murrayfield Stadium.
Gavin Hastings is widely considered one of the outstanding players of the game, and is hugely respected by his peers.
He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2003.
In sporting lists, he is often named as the greatest Scottish rugby player of all time.
His sporting passion continues with his love of golf playing to a five handicap on his favourite links course at Gullane in East Lothian as well as supporting Watsonians and Scotland on the rugby field.
