Death of Scott Hastings: ‘The power of strength and positivity’

Hastings was a wonderful rugby player, a powerhouse, a center of energy and ferocious will.

He made his debut for Scotland in 1986 alongside his older brother Gavin. He won 65 caps in 11 years. For a time he was the most capped Scottish player of all time, which he may have reminded his sibling of.

Gavin was a famous goalkeeper and captain, captain of the British and Irish Lions in 1993 and a world-class player. Scott may not have resonated with foreign audiences in the same way but everyone knew his immense importance to Scotland during a golden age.

In 1989 he became not just a Lion but a Test Lion in Australia, a key part of Ian McGeechan’s side as they won the series 1-0 to 2-1.

The Wallabies were an incredible unit back then. The Lions had to fight the infamous Battle of Ballymore on their way to glory. Hastings delighted in retelling the story of the melee that had taken place that day. He had a perfect ringside seat, he said. Far from violence, which was not for pretty boys like him.

He had a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor but was more of a man when it came to game day. The greatest moment of his illustrious career came on 17 March 1990, when he was part of McGeechans and Jim Telfer’s grand slam winning side against England at Murrayfield. It remains the last Scottish Grand Slam.

Hastings and others involved in that fateful afternoon recalled how he was, and the image was sometimes comical.

“I was in a trance,” he said of the hours leading up to the great decider and still, 36 years on, Scottish rugby’s biggest day.

“I relied on emotion. I cried all the way to the ground. I cried in the dressing room beforehand, I cried on the way to the pitch.”

This was the famous Slow Walk, led by Captain David Soule, a part of the theater in which the Scots did not march into battle like demons but marched in single file like soldiers going into battle.

They had it all worked out. Be the only leader to be first and then the rest will fall back in numerical order. Kenny Milne, wearing number two, will be behind Sol. Paul Burnell, wearing number three, will be behind Milne and the last man, Gavin Hastings, with 15 on his back.

“Scott jumped the line and moved to third,” said big Scottish lock Chris Gray. “I was saying, ‘Scott, go back’. He ignored me. ‘Scott, you’re 13th in line’. No response.

“I looked at him – and he was gone. He was in another world. We were lined up in the aisle, ready to walk, but there was a delay. I was thinking, ‘If Scott doesn’t go soon, he’s going to blow a gasket’. He was like a horse going down the starting stall. He’s got to be let go.”

Hastings laughed heartily when these words were read to him a few years ago. He loved the illustration and completely agreed with it. Some in the English team spoke of Hastings’ mad focus, and he loved it.