Alexander Bennett Carmichael (born February 2, 1944 in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

) was a tighthead prop forward who played for West of Scotland R.F.C.

West of Scotland R.F.C.

West of Scotland Football Club are a Scottish rugby union club from Milngavie, just outside Glasgow.-History:Formed in 1865, they played a founding role in establishing international rugby in Scotland and have provided a number of SRU Presidents and players. The club originated at Hamilton...

 and earned 50 caps in the Scotland national rugby union team

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...

 from 1967 to 1978, which was a record for a Scottish forward at the time. He played for the British Lion

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 1971 tour

1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand

In 1971 the British Lions toured New Zealand, also playing two matches in Australia. Despite losing the first match to Queensland the tour was a great success, the Lions winning the test series against the All Blacks. They are still the only Lions side to have won a test series in New Zealand...

 to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, but was invalided out of the tour in Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

, after multiple punches by the opposition fractured his cheekbone.

Richard Bath writes of him that he was:

"A solid scrummager, he was a superb minder at the line-out and surprisingly for a prop, was well known as a great cover tackler."

Allan Massie

Allan Massie

Allan Massie is a well-known Scottish journalist, sports writer and novelist.-Early life:Born in 1938 in Singapore, where his father was a rubber planter for Sime Darby, Massie spent his childhood in Aberdeenshire...

 says that he was:

"...undoubtedly the fastest prop to have played for Scotland in modern times. He covered and tackled like a back-row forward: two notable try-saving tackles came in that heroic Scots win in Paris in 1969. He was powerful and very hard to stop with the ball in his hands, extremely formidable in a peel from the line-out. Some critics felt that he was insufficiently assertive, but his side gained on balance from his concentration on ball and game, and his disinclination to be drawn into private battles.... His speed in the loose was made him seem more like a French forward than a British one, and it would have been a joy seeing him playing in a French-style pack."

Stephen Watt writes: Carmichael was an outstanding rugby player from an early age. His versatility as a prop was because he played at No. 8 for his school team (Loretto School

Loretto School

Loretto School is an independent school in Scotland, founded in 1827. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.-History:Loretto was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. Langhorne came from Crosby Ravensworth, near Kirkby Stephen. The school was later taken over by his son,...

, Musselburgh) where he was an early exponent of the "pick up and go" move from the base of the scrum.

Massie also says that for a prop, he was very versatile, and that in many ways, he presaged the move away from positional specialisation into a more diversified game.

The Canterbury Incident

Carmichael is mainly remembered for being the victim of violence in the 1971 tour where he received five fractures of the cheekbone, yet still played until final whistle. The match was described as an extremely violent match. The referee at one point told the captains that from that moment onwards he was going to follow the ball and it was up to them to sort out anything else.

Sandy Carmichael was replaced on the 1971 Lions tour by another Scottish prop, Ian McLauchlan

Ian McLauchlan

John "Ian" McLauchlan is a former Scottish John "Ian" McLauchlan is a former [[Scotland|Scottish]] John "Ian" McLauchlan is a former [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[rugby union] playerer...

 (The Mighty Mouse) who proceeded to make the position his own. Carmichael also went on the 1974 tour

1974 British Lions tour to South Africa

In 1974 the British Lions toured South Africa, with matches in South West Africa and Rhodesia . The tour was a great success, the Lions winning 21 of their 22 matches and drawing the other. After winning the first three test matches, the Lions drew the final test to preserve their unbeaten record...

to South Africa, but did not make the test side.

External links

• Sandy Carmichael on the Sporting Heroes database
• Sandy Carmichael - part 2 on the Sporting Heroes database