The 1989 Lions tour to Australia marked the arrival of the combined side as a cultural and commercial phenomenon, but it was also a high-water mark for Scottish involvement in the squad.
The touring party had a Scottish coach, a Scottish captain and eight other Scottish players, more than any other squad in the modern era. Many of the Scots who travelled to Australia that year have since testified that the foundations of Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam were laid there, not least in the realisation that they were the equals of the players from the other home nations, and, in many cases, better.
It was the first Australia-only tour the Lions had made since 1899. It was also one of the most controversial, as the Australians accused the tourists of brutal tactics in the second Test, which started with an almighty brawl between the two packs.
The Lions had lost the first Test 30-12. They unquestionably took a more physical approach in the second, which they won 19-12. The third and deciding Test went down to the wire and was settled by an error by David Campese which gifted the winning try to Ieuan Evans, the Lions winning 19-18.
By the end of the series six of the nine Scots were Test Lions. All but one of the nine was on the pitch at Murrayfield the following March when Scotland clinched their Grand Slam against England.
IAN McGEECHAN
Perhaps the most celebrated figure in Lions history, this was the first of the Yorkshire Scot's four stints as head coach. At the time, he was a relatively inexperienced international coach, but he had toured with the Lions in 1974 and 1977 as a player and his visionary qualities were already apparent. He would go on to mastermind Scotland's Grand Slam in 1990, and also coached Northampton, Wasps and Bath. He was knighted in 2010.
GAVIN HASTINGS
The older of the two Hastings brothers had set a Scottish points record on his debut against France three years earlier. By 1989 he was already being hailed as the best full-back in the world, a reputation he only enhanced with his powerful running and his magnificent goal-kicking. He scored a try in the second Test, but his five penalties in the final Test were probably more critical in terms of clinching the series win. Hastings went on to captain the 1993 Lions and retired from international rugby two years later. He now runs a sports marketing business.
FINLAY CALDER
Enigmatic and quietly spoken, Calder was a late developer, making his Scotland debut at the age of 28. His twin brother Jim had been a Lion in New Zealand in 1983, but the two men never played together for Scotland. Calder, the tour captain, was hard as granite but famously humble, even to the point of offering to stand down after losing the first Test. He is a grain dealer.
GARY ARMSTRONG
The Jed-Forest scrum-half followed his club-mate Roy Laidlaw, who had toured with the Lions in 1983. Unlike Laidlaw, however, Armstrong would never wear the red shirt in a Test. He lost out to Robert Jones of Wales in 1989 and missed the 1993 tour to New Zealand with an injury. He won 51 Scotland caps and captained his country to the 1999 Five Nations title. He runs his own haulage business in the Borders.
CRAIG CHALMERS
Chalmers was just 20 and had made his Scotland debut just a few months earlier at the time of the 1989 tour. However, his quality as an all-round playmaker quickly became obvious, and he was the first-choice fly-half by the time of the first Test. He was dropped after that defeat, though, the 10 shirt being taken by England's more experienced Rob Andrew. He finished his Scotland career with 60 caps. He has recently moved to England to coach Chinnor rugby club in Oxfordshire.
DEREK WHITE
Perhaps the least celebrated of the famous 1990 Grand Slam back row, White was a wonderfully effective and athletic No.8, ideally suited to the hard grounds of Australia. He thrived in the build-up games and earned a place in the first Test side, but was dropped in favour of Dean Richards for the second and third. He endured tragedy when his wife died in 2001. He lives in the south of England and works in the financial sector.
JOHN JEFFREY
The infamous White Shark, Jeffrey had established himself as one of the world's pre-eminent loose forwards by the time of the 1989 tour. He also had an eye for the try line, and is joint-holder of the Scottish record for tries by a forward, with 11 to his name. However, in 1989 he was up against Mike Teague in the battle for the blindside flank position, and he lost out to the Englishman who was subsequently named player of the tour. He is now a Scottish representative on the International Rugby Board and heads the referees committee.
DAVID SOLE
Scotland has a noble history of supplying loosehead props to the Lions and Sole extended that line by nailing down the No.1 shirt almost from the start of the tour. He would go on to play in all three Tests as one of the tour's outstanding players. His finest hour came the following year as he led Scotland to a Grand Slam triumph against England. He has a number of interests in business, farming and media work.
SCOTT HASTINGS
Gavin's younger and more garrulous brother, Scott Hastings actually exceeded his brother's tally of 61 caps by collecting 64. He was left out of the first Test, but played in the second and third, both of which produced wins against the Wallabies. A powerful runner and a stonewall tackler, Scott would almost certainly have gone on to play in the 1993 Lions Tests as well, but his tour that year was ended by a cheekbone fracture. Now works in marketing and broadcasting.
PETER DODS
Dods was a surprise selection for the Lions, having drifted off the Scotland scene after the arrival of Gavin Hastings a few seasons earlier. However, Hastings missed the 1989 Five Nations through injury, and Dods's performances earned him a call-up to the squad. He was never really in with a shout of a Test spot, but he became a stalwart of the midweek side, scoring 66 points in five games. He is a self-employed joiner in Galashiels.
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