Calcutta Cup victory hero Tommy Gray dies aged 83

Tommy Gray, a Scotland rugby international who kicked a conversion to win the Calcutta Cup 50 years ago despite having lost half his foot in the Second World War, has died at the age of 83.

Gray passed away in Edinburgh at the weekend and if any former player would have had cause to celebrate Scotland's great triumph over England at Murrayfield on Sunday, it would have been the former Heriot's and Northampton full-back.

Almost 50 years to the day, on 18 March, 1950, Gray landed the match-winnng conversion of Donald Sloan's try - and, as on Sunday, it was lashing rain -which gave Scotland a 13-11 victory over the auld enemy, also at Murrayfield.

The fact that Gray was playing rugby at all, never mind kicking penalties and conversions for club and country, was in itself a remarkable feat as he had half of his left foot blown off by an anti-tank shell during the Second World War.

But Gray's determination to play again and his good fortune at being posted from Edinburgh to Northampton by his insurance company proved a winning blend.

Northampton was at that time the centre of the shoe industry and the Herioter had special boots made for him. While the footwear enabled him to play - Gray was such a versatile performer that he played in the Heriot's seven who won the Twickenham sevens in season 1949-50 - he still found it painful on numerous occasions and quite often his injured foot would be bloody by the time the final whistle went.

Gray was capped three times and was one of eight members of the Heriot's club who played full-back for his country, starting with Dan Drysdale in 1923 and ending with Andy Irvine, whose last cap was in 1982.