Gavin Hastings
Encyclopedia
Andrew Gavin Hastings, OBE
(born 3 January 1962) is a former Scotland
rugby union
player. He is frequently considered one of the best, if not the best, rugby player to come out of Scotland. His nickname is "Big Gav".
Hastings was born in Edinburgh. He has played for Watsonians, London Scottish
, Cambridge University, Scotland
and the British and Irish Lions
and was one of the outstanding rugby union
players of his generation, winning 61 caps
for Scotland, 20 of which as captain. He played fullback, and captained the Lions
on the tour to New Zealand in 1993
(after playing in all three tests in the 1989 tour to Australia
).
Former national coach Ian McGeechan
said of him:
on 7 June 2008, Hastings was the all-time record points scorer in the Scottish national rugby union team, with 667 points in test matches. He remains the all-time record points scorer for the British and Irish Lions (in test matches) with 66, the all time record points scorer for Watsonians with 1203, and until 2007 was the all time record points scorer for an individual player in the Rugby World Cup
with 227 points. He was surpassed by Jonny Wilkinson
in the 2007 quarter-final stage against Australia. He also scored 17 tries for Scotland, to place him third on Scotland's all time list on his retirement.
Richard Bath writes of Gavin Hastings that:
He also appeared 10 times for the Barbarians
.
.
, previously considered Scotland's best ever full back. He is the elder brother of Scott Hastings
. Both Hastings brothers earned their first cap on 17 January 1986 against France
. Gavin's international career got off to an inauspicious start - his opening kick off went out of bounds, and when he turned away in disgust, assuming he had given away a scrum on the halfway line, the French elected to take a quick throw-in (a rarity in such situations) and scored a try directly from the throw-in. Gavin recovered his composure to kick six penalty goals in the match (then a record), which Scotland eventually won 18-17. He scored a further five penalty goals and three conversions in a record breaking 33-6 win over England later in 1986.
Gavin has twice set the world record for most points in an international match, and on each occasion the record was then broken by someone else for the second time on the same day.
Gavin was a member of the Scotland team which won only its third Grand Slam
in its history in 1990, playing a pivotal role in Tony Stanger
's crucial winning try in the final match.
In 1995 Gavin Hastings scored a try underneath the posts from a pass by Gregor Townsend
in the waning minutes of a match against France in the old Parc des Princes
, which gave Scotland its first win on French soil since 1969.
Gavin's greatest disappointment as an international rugby player came in a 1991 World cup semi final match against England. With Scotland 3 points adrift in the closing minutes of a tightly fought defensive game, Gavin had a relatively straightforward penalty attempt right in front of the English posts. He missed the kick, and England went on to win the game and play in and lose the final.
Richard Bath says of Hastings' playing style that he was:
as a kicker
with the Scottish Claymores
of the WLAF
. Hastings' brief spell in his new code was a poor one, even though the Claymores won that year's World Bowl
at the home of Scottish Rugby, Murrayfield Stadium
. Hastings missed 4 of his 27 extra point attempts, and missed his solitary field goal
attempt.
He 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, and the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
. In sporting lists, he is often named as the greatest Scottish rugby player of all time.
On the 30th of August 2007 he was announced as the chairman of the "New" Edinburgh professional rugby club.
Hastings is represented by sports marketing agency ENS Ltd - www.ensltd.com - and is an "ambassador" for HSBC Bank plc.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 3 January 1962) is a former Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player. He is frequently considered one of the best, if not the best, rugby player to come out of Scotland. His nickname is "Big Gav".
Hastings was born in Edinburgh. He has played for Watsonians, London Scottish
London Scottish F.C.
London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. It is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union.-History:...
, Cambridge University, Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
and was one of the outstanding rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
players of his generation, winning 61 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for Scotland, 20 of which as captain. He played fullback, and captained the Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
on the tour to New Zealand in 1993
1993 British Lions tour to New Zealand
In 1993 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. This tour followed the Lions' 1989 tour to Australia and preceded their 1997 tour to South Africa. It was the last Lions tour in the sport's amateur era....
(after playing in all three tests in the 1989 tour to Australia
1989 British Lions tour to Australia
In 1989 the British Lions toured Australia for the first time since 1971. Despite losing the first test, the Lions won the remaining two to take the series 2-1...
).
Former national coach Ian McGeechan
Ian McGeechan
Sir Ian Robert McGeechan OBE is a Scottish former rugby union player and coach. His nickname is "Geech".-Playing career:...
said of him:
- "Gavin is a big man in every sense of the word... his greatest asset was to engender confidence in those around him and to lead by example when the opposition had to be taken on. In New Zealand, they considered him simply the best full-back in the world."
Statistics
Until his record was overtaken by Chris PatersonChris Paterson
Chris Paterson is a Scotland internationalist who plays for RaboDirect Pro12 side Edinburgh Rugby. He is Scotland’s record cap and points holder with 109 caps and 809 points. Paterson is capable in a range of positions, including fullback, wing and fly-half. In recent years Paterson has played...
on 7 June 2008, Hastings was the all-time record points scorer in the Scottish national rugby union team, with 667 points in test matches. He remains the all-time record points scorer for the British and Irish Lions (in test matches) with 66, the all time record points scorer for Watsonians with 1203, and until 2007 was the all time record points scorer for an individual player in the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
with 227 points. He was surpassed by Jonny Wilkinson
Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
in the 2007 quarter-final stage against Australia. He also scored 17 tries for Scotland, to place him third on Scotland's all time list on his retirement.
Richard Bath writes of Gavin Hastings that:
- "Caps do not make the man, but a quick look at Gavin Hastings' battle honours should be more than enough to establish his credentials as the finest player ever to wear the dark blue of Scotland.
- "For the record though, here is an abridged version of one of the most impressive curriculum vitae in British rugby; Hastings captained the first Scottish schoolboys' side to win on English soil; he captained the victorious 1985 Cambridge University side; he won the Gallacher Shield with Auckland UniversityUniversity of AucklandThe University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
during his sabbatical year; he was a central figure in Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam... he captained Scotland in one World Cup, and played in two others, including a semi-final; he captained his country and scored the winning try when Scotland registered their first win at the Parc des PrincesParc des PrincesThe Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
... he played for the World XV in the New Zealand Centenary Celebrations; and he holds the British points-scoring record with 733 points in tests for Scotland and the Lions."
He also appeared 10 times for the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
.
Biography
As a schoolboy Gavin 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 MatchThe Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
.
International career
Gavin was the indirect successor to Andy IrvineAndy Irvine (rugby player)
Andrew Robertson "Andy" Irvine MBE is a former President of the Scottish Rugby Union , and a former Scottish international rugby player. He earned fifty one Scottish caps, and scored over 250 points for .-Background:...
, previously considered Scotland's best ever full back. He is the elder brother of Scott Hastings
Scott Hastings (rugby player)
Scott Hastings is a Scottish Rugby Union player. He won 65 caps at centre for Scotland from 1986 to 1997. Scott is the younger brother of Scottish great Gavin Hastings. They both earned their first cap on 17 January 1986 against France. When he retired, he was Scotland's most-capped player ever...
. Both Hastings brothers earned their first cap on 17 January 1986 against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
. Gavin's international career got off to an inauspicious start - his opening kick off went out of bounds, and when he turned away in disgust, assuming he had given away a scrum on the halfway line, the French elected to take a quick throw-in (a rarity in such situations) and scored a try directly from the throw-in. Gavin recovered his composure to kick six penalty goals in the match (then a record), which Scotland eventually won 18-17. He scored a further five penalty goals and three conversions in a record breaking 33-6 win over England later in 1986.
Gavin has twice set the world record for most points in an international match, and on each occasion the record was then broken by someone else for the second time on the same day.
Gavin was a member of the Scotland team which won only its third Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
in its history in 1990, playing a pivotal role in Tony Stanger
Tony Stanger
Anthony George Stanger is a former Scottish international rugby union player, and is Scotland's joint record try scorer....
's crucial winning try in the final match.
In 1995 Gavin Hastings scored a try underneath the posts from a pass by Gregor Townsend
Gregor Townsend
Gregor Peter John Townsend MBE is a former Scottish rugby union player who played at fly-half, full back and latterly centre....
in the waning minutes of a match against France in the old Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
, which gave Scotland its first win on French soil since 1969.
Gavin's greatest disappointment as an international rugby player came in a 1991 World cup semi final match against England. With Scotland 3 points adrift in the closing minutes of a tightly fought defensive game, Gavin had a relatively straightforward penalty attempt right in front of the English posts. He missed the kick, and England went on to win the game and play in and lose the final.
Richard Bath says of Hastings' playing style that he was:
- "Solid under the high ball, an outstanding goal-kicker and with a siege-gun boot that would almost inevitably find touch, Hastings was defensively strong, and came into the line with an impact which perhaps owed more to his stocky frame than great pace, but which was still extremely effective and served any team he played for in any conditions.
- "A gritty player whose solidity reassured players in front of him and whose huge boot sapped opposition confidence, Gavin Hastings was also a player of immense spirit who invariably led the rearguard action, or initiated the fightback."
Post-international career
In 1996, Hastings made an initially controversial decision to accept an invitation to switch to American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
as a kicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
with the Scottish Claymores
Scottish Claymores
The Scottish Claymores were an American football team from Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow...
of the WLAF
World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...
. Hastings' brief spell in his new code was a poor one, even though the Claymores won that year's World Bowl
World Bowl
The World Bowl was the American football Championship game of NFL Europe, similar to the Super Bowl of the National Football League.The World Bowl trophy itself was a globe made of glass measuring 35.5 cm in diameter and weighing 18.6 kg .-World League of American Football:When NFL Europe was...
at the home of Scottish Rugby, Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
. Hastings missed 4 of his 27 extra point attempts, and missed his solitary field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
attempt.
He 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
International Rugby Hall of Fame
The International Rugby Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF accepts new inductees every two years...
in 2003, and the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame in Scotland, initiated on St Andrew's Day 2001. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and the National Museums of Scotland. It is also funded by BBC Scotland and...
. In sporting lists, he is often named as the greatest Scottish rugby player of all time.
On the 30th of August 2007 he was announced as the chairman of the "New" Edinburgh professional rugby club.
Hastings is represented by sports marketing agency ENS Ltd - www.ensltd.com - and is an "ambassador" for HSBC Bank plc.
External links
- Gavin Hastings on the Scotsman website
- Gavin Hastings on the Sporting Heroes website.