Gavin Hastings

Rugger | name = Gavin Hastings


birthname = Andrew Gavin Hastings
nickname = Big Gav
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|df=yes|1962|01|3
placeofbirth = Edinburgh, Scotland
height = height|ft=6|in=2
weight = 14 st 3 lbs (95 kg)
ru_position = Fullback|capital=yes
ru_nationalteam = Scotland British and Irish Lions
ru_nationalcaps = 61 6
ru_nationalpoints = (667) (66)
ru_ntupdate = 7 August 2006
ru_nationalyears = 1986-1995 1989-1993
ru_clubyears = 1985
ru_clubupdate = 7 August 2006
ru_clubcaps =
ru_clubpoints =
ru_proclubs = Cambridge University Watsonians RFC London Scottish
other = yes
occupation =
school = George Watson's College
university = Cambridge University

Andrew Gavin Hastings, OBE (born 3 January 1962 in Edinburgh) is a former Scottish Rugby Union player. He has played for Watsonians, 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. Until his record was overtaken by Chris Paterson 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. He has appeared 10 times for the Barbarians. He goes by the nickname: "Big Gav".

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 Match.

Gavin was the indirect successor to Andy Irvine, 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. [In the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Gavin scored 44 points against the Ivory Coast; later that day Simon Culhane scored 45 points for New Zealand in a record 145-17 victory over Japan, a record that still stands. Previously Gavin had set the record for points scored in an individual game in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, only to see that record then broken by Didier Camberabero of France who scored 30 points for France against Zimbabwe on the same afternoon.]

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 the scores level at 6-6 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.

In 1996, Hastings made an initially controversial decision to accept an invitation to switch to American football 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. 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

See also

*International Rugby Hall of Fame

External links

* [http://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=325&id=474142002 Gavin Hastings] on the Scotsman website
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=1454 Gavin Hastings] on the Sporting Heroes website.
* [http://www.tracyedwards.co.uk/hastings.html Gavin Hastings] motivational speaker

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