Scottish independence: Rugby legends backing ‘No’

Andy Nicol and Scott Hastings outside Murrayfield, where they took part in an anti-independence event. Picture: Lesley Martin

David Sole, who captained Scotland’s Grand Slam winning side in 1990, was part of the all-star No campaign line-up that included Scott and Gavin Hastings and Finlay Calder, who played in the same team.

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Sole, speaking at Murrayfield today, said the 1990 win over England was a “defining moment in Scottish history” and that some of the members had wanted to show a “gesture of support” at the scene of their famous Grand Slam triumph.

Former Scottish rugby international Andy Nicol said some of the players had got involved in the referendum because of what he said was Alex Salmond’s suggestion that patriotic Scots would vote Yes next week, with references the First Minister made to “Team Scotland”.

He said: “He crossed the line with the insinuation that you can only be a patriotic Scot by voting Yes. Alex Salmond was very divisive with what he said about Team Scotland.”

Nicol also suggested a Yes vote could mean a change to the British and Irish Lions as he claimed the future of the test side was one of the “many unknowns” of the SNP’s plans for independence.

The former Scotland Scrum-half said that the Lions teams, which is made up of players from the UK and Ireland and tours the Southern Hemisphere every four years, was the “epitome” of Better Together”.