Andy Irvine (rugby union)

For other uses, see Andrew Irvine (disambiguation).
Andy Irvine
Full name Andrew Robertson Irvine
Date of birth (1951-09-16) 16 September 1951
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
School George Heriot's School
University Edinburgh University
Occupation(s) Chartered Surveyor
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Fullback
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
Heriot's Rugby Club
Barbarians
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1972-1982
1974-1980		 Scotland
British and Irish Lions		 51[1]
9		 (250)
(28)
correct as of 26 October 2009.

Andrew Robertson "Andy" Irvine MBE (born 16 September 1951) is a former President of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), and a former Scottish international rugby player.[2] He earned fifty one Scottish caps, and scored 250 points for Scotland.[1]

Background

Irvine was born in Edinburgh, on 16 September 1951 and was educated at George Heriot's School in the city. From there he went on to Edinburgh University. After graduation he followed a career in chartered surveying. He also works for Jones Lang LaSalle.[3]

Rugby career

Andy Irvine originally played for Heriot's Rugby Club.[2]

As fullback for Scotland, he won 51 caps, between 1972–82 and scored ten tries.[2] His first cap was against the All Blacks in December 1972.[2]

He earned British and Irish Lions caps versus South Africa (1974), New Zealand (1977) and South Africa (1980). He also played for the Barbarians during their 1976 Easter Tour. In the 1974 tour, he adopted many South African tactics and styles of play, although JPR Williams was preferred as full back for the tests, limiting Irvine to two test appearances on the wing.[1][2]

Irvine vies with Gavin Hastings for the title of Scotland's greatest ever fullback, with incisive running at a blistering pace from the back his trademark.[4] A number of polls have voted Irvine Scotland's greatest player , and he is generally considered one of the best, if not the best, attacking full backs of his era.[5] His presence in the line often distracted defenders even when he did not have possession.[6]

He is an inductee of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Rugby Hall of Fame.[5]

Other activities

Irvine became president of the Scottish Rugby Union in 2005.[7] He announced his readiness to stand for a second term at the end of March 2006.[8]

He has appeared as a guest on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound radio programme to comment on international rugby games. He has also coached rugby at Heriot's Rugby Club.

Irvine is a director of the Bill McLaren Foundation along with John Rutherford.[9]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Massie, p142
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bath, p141
  3. ↑ "Commercial Property Services in Edinburgh". Jones Lang LaSalle. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Andy Irvine International Rugby Hall of Fame
  5. 1 2 International Rugby Hall of Fame Andy Irvine
  6. ↑ On this day in Scotland : Andy Irvine Ian Colville, 15 September 2010
  7. ↑ Irvine ready to answer his country's call Scotsman.com, 7 May 2005
  8. ↑ Irvine to stand for second term at SRU Scotsman.com, 1 April 2006
  9. ↑ Charity Directors Bill McLaren Foundation

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, February 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.