Scott Hastings, the most capped centre in the history of Scotland’s rugby union side, played a key role in his country’s epic 1990 grand slam victory over England at Murrayfield. Scott, whose name will be forever linked with his elder brother Gavin, was a defensive bulwark of the Scottish team and his astonishing tackle from behind that day on Rory Underwood helped secure his country’s finest ever victory.
In many ways Scott, who has died aged 61 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Gavin were chalk and cheese. The full-back Gavin was affable enough but quiet and earnest while Scott always had a smile on his face. He was a practical joker in his playing days, the dying era of amateurism. “In the end,” he once said, “I recognise that rugby is still all about fun.”
