Alexander James Hastie (29 July 1935 – 7 June 2010), also known as Alex Hastie or Eck Hastie was a

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

international rugby union player. He played at Scrum-half; and was commonly linked with

David Chisholm David Chisholm ( St. Boswells, 23 January 1937 – Borders, 27 July 1998) was a Scottish rugby union player.Bath, p. 138 He played as a fly-half. He had 14 caps for Scotland, from 1964 to 1968, scoring 1 try and 4 drop goals, 15 points on aggre ...

, his pairing at

Fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

for club and country.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Hastie played for Melrose. He first played for the side in 1954 when 17 years old. He was club captain when Melrose won the

Scottish Unofficial Championship The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competi ...

in 1962-63 season; and the Border League in that same year. Of his pairing with

, Allan Massie said:

"They played together for Melrose for eleven seasons, in the course of which Chisholm scored more than a thousand points for the club... As a pair their understanding made them more than the sum of two individuals. Did Hastie ever lose Chisholm in any of the thirteen internationals they played together? It was their joint ability to tidy up bad ball and even turn it to advantage that made them the most secure of partnerships. Both tackled better than many wing forwards, and they would have revelled in the modern game... Their record of going ten internationals without defeat is unparalleled." Neither of them made it onto the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
tour to New Zealand. Hastie was said to have a particularly "effective hand-off".

Bill McLaren William Pollock McLaren (16 October 1923 – 19 January 2010) was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Known as "the voice of rugby", he retired from commentating in 2002. Renowned throughout th ...

thought that:

"Hastie was one of that Border breed of durable scrum-halves, all 'shilpit' little chaps, seemingly in need of a good meal and all of whom, through operating behind lightweight packs always struggling for ball, had to live on their wits and raw courage."

Provincial career

He played for South of Scotland District. He was part of the North-South Provinces District side that beat

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1962. He played for the

Whites Trial White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

side in their matches against the Blues Trial to determine international selection. He turned out for Whites in their 2nd trial match in 1962-63 season.

International career

He played for

from 1961 to 1968.

Coaching career

He coached the Melrose Colts, the youth team of Melrose.

References

;Sources # Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) # McLaren, Bill Talking of Rugby (1991, Stanley Paul, London ) # Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; ) 1935 births 2010 deaths Melrose RFC players Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union players from Hawick Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players Provinces District (rugby union) players Whites Trial players {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-1930s-stub