Scott Hastings is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 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 won 65 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...

 at centre for 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...

 from 1986 to 1997. Scott is the younger brother of Scottish great Gavin Hastings

Gavin Hastings

Andrew Gavin Hastings, OBE 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...

. They both 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...

. When he retired, he was Scotland's most-capped player ever. Twice a member of the British 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...

 in 1989 (Australia) and 1993 (New Zealand) where he suffered a shattered cheekbone and did not play against the All Blacks.

Rugby

Although sometimes overshadowed by his brother Gavin, Scott Hastings is himself one of the greatest players in Scottish rugby history.

"He first entered the Scottish squad set-up in 1986 as one of the most cocksure personalities they had ever met. And while that wild joie de vivre and natural ebullience has sometimes since overspilled off the pitch, they have been a positive boon. In his early days, Scott was most notable for his searing pace, straight-running and ability to break the gain line virtually every time he received the ball. It was not long, however, before his bullocking runs from the centre were complemented by the stonewall defensive qualities which were to remain the salient quality in his game as his pace faded later on."

Bath also reminds us of Scott Hastings' proudest moment:

"If there is one moment for which he will long be remembered, it was during the 1990 Grand Slam decider, the proudest day in Scottish rugby history. English winger Rory Underwood

Rory Underwood

Rory Underwood MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing for, most notably, Leicester Tigers and Bedford. He represented England and the British Lions and is a former Royal Air Force pilot....

 had scythed through the Scottish defence when Hastings managed to drag him down short of the line when a try seemed inevitable."

After retirement

Scott was invited to open Dunstane City Hotel

Dunstane House

Dunstane House is located in the west of Edinburgh on West Coates, part of the A8 in Edinburgh. It is close to Haymarket train station, Murrayfield Stadium and Edinburgh Zoo.-Dunstane Villa:...

, near Murrayfield, in 2008.

Scott has appeared as a guest presenter on STV's daily lifestyle show The Hour on a few occasions - his first show being in November 2009, alongside main anchor Michelle McManus

Michelle McManus

Michelle McManus is a Scottish singer-songwriter, actress, radio DJ and television presenter, who rose to fame after winning the second series of the UK talent show Pop Idol....

. The Scottish magazine programme airs weekdays at 5pm.

He was a co-commentator for ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup

2011 Rugby World Cup

The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...

.

External links

• Scott Hastings on Sporting Heroes
• Scott Hastings - tribute in the Scotsman newspaper