David Leslie,

Published on Thursday 2 May 2002 01:00

“Leslie's safe return from some of his more suicidal missions in the loose continues to be a source of amazement and delight to his many admirers. I have run out of things to say about him except that, so far as I know, no individual been more important to his country this season than Leslie has to Scotland.” So wrote The Scotsman after Scotland’s victory over France to win the 1984 Grand Slam.

David Leslie, capped 32 times for his country between 1975 and 1985, was just about the complete back-row forward - brave to an extent which could defy belief, but he was also an excellently schooled ball-player who passed like a fly-half and always kept the ball alive in the tackle, dipping his shoulder and smuggling the ball on to a supporting player. He could also kick extremely well.

More than any other factor though, Leslie’s greatest attribute was his intuitive reading of the game. He rarely made less than the best use of possesion – coach Jim Telfer said that he stopped worrying when Leslie had the ball.

This judgement and speed of thought was shown by the fact that he was regularly first to the breakdown point despite being relatively pedestrian for an international flanker. Leslie was also fairly small at just six foot but again made up in the line-out through superior skill and tenacity. In the loose he was miraculous; Leslie seemed to consider there was no ball that he could not make his own.

David Leslie was voted Rugby World’s Player of the Year in 1984.