Sandy Carmichael

Last updated

Sandy Carmichael
MBE
Birth nameAlexander Bennett Carmichael
Date of birth(1944-02-02)2 February 1944
Date of death27 October 2021(2021-10-27) (aged 77)
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
- West of Scotland ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
- Glasgow District ()
- Scotland Possibles. ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1969–79 Scotland 50
– British and Irish Lions

Alexander Bennett Carmichael MBE (2 February 1944 – 27 October 2021) [1] was a Scotland international rugby union player. [2] [3]

Contents

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Carmichael was a tighthead prop and part of the West of Scotland side in the 1970s - a powerhouse in UK rugby, averaging 10 internationalists in the team per season, and dominating the domestic league with West's great rivals, Hawick RFC. Carmichael charged down a drop out and returned for a score in a memorable 32-6 victory against Hawick to win the league in 1973.

Provincial career

He played for Glasgow District.

He played for Scotland Possibles in the trial match of 11 January 1975. [4]

International career

He earned 50 caps for Scotland from 1967 to 1978 which was a record for a Scottish player at the time. [5]

He played for the British and Irish Lions on the 1971 tour to New Zealand, but was invalided out of the tour in Canterbury, after multiple punches by the opposition fractured his cheekbone.

Carmichael also went on the 1974 tour to South Africa, but did not make the test side.

Canterbury Incident

Carmichael was mainly remembered for being the victim of violence in the 1971 tour where he received five fractures of the cheekbone, yet still played until final whistle. [2] The match was described as an extremely violent match and often referred to as the Battle of Canterbury. [6] The referee at one point told the captains that from that moment onwards he was going to follow the ball and it was up to them to sort out anything else.

Carmichael had to leave the tour following the Canterbury match, as did three other players including Ray McLoughlin the loose head prop. In this one game the Lions lost both of their first choice props. The second string of Ian McLauchlan who was already in the Lions squad and Sean Lynch stepped into the breach and proved very effective; even though the Lions lost some of the options that McLoughlin and Carmichael would have given them. The Lions intended test front row, which included John Pullin of England, came together again for the Barbarians in the famous match against the All Blacks in January 1973.

Honours

He was awarded an MBE in the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours.

Personal life

Carmichael was the grandson of Alec Bennett who played football for Celtic, Rangers and Scotland in the early 20th century. [7] [8]

He died on 27 October 2021, at the age of 77. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Duckham</span> English rugby union player (1946–2023)

David John Duckham MBE was an English rugby union player. He played 36 games for England, in three tests on the 1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand and for Barbarians F.C. in their 1973 defeat of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Brown (rugby union)</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Gordon Lamont Brown was a Scottish rugby union footballer. Nicknamed "Broon frae Troon", Brown is considered one of Scotland's greatest-ever rugby players. Playing as a second row forward, he was an integral part of Scotland's tight five during the early 1970s, along with Ian McLauchlan, Sandy Carmichael, Frank Laidlaw and Alastair McHarg, which became known collectively as the Mean Machine. He also represented the British and Irish Lions on three tours with distinction. Brown was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2001, which later integrated with the World Rugby Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 2015. He was also an inductee to the Scottish Rugby Union Hall of Fame in 2010.

James Telfer is a Scottish former rugby union coach and player. As a player, he won 21 international caps in the amateur era, also having a career as a headmaster at Hawick High School and Galashiels Academy and Forrester High School as a chemistry teacher. With Sir Ian McGeechan he had success with both the Scotland national team and the British Lions.

John McLauchlan, known as Ian McLauchlan, is a former Scotland international rugby union player. Nicknamed Mighty Mouse, he represented Scotland at loosehead prop from 1969 to 1979.

Colonel Michael John Campbell-Lamerton was a Scotland international player. He was also a British Army officer.

Jim Renwick is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He played at Centre.

Cameron Michael Henderson GibsonMBE is a former rugby union international player who represented Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh Academical Football Club</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Place, in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. The team is coached by Iain Berthinussen.

Thomas Elliot MBE was a Scotland international rugby union player. His regular playing position was Prop.

Bill Dickinson was a Scottish rugby union player and coach. He was appointed the first official national coach of Scotland in 1971. Richard Bath points out that Dickinson's appointment made an "immediate impact" in performance, leading to a one-point loss (18-17) to a "rampant Wales side" and wins against England and others. Allan Massie describes his contribution to Scottish rugby as "immense".

Colin Thomas Deans MBE is a former Scotland international rugby union player.

Alexander Bennett was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic, Rangers and the Scotland national team.

Rodger Arneil is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He was played on two British and Irish Lions tours - to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, the second tour as a replacement.

Raymond John McLoughlin was an Ireland rugby union international who was capped 40 times at prop, an Irish record at the time. He began at tight head, moving to the open side on his return to the Ireland team in 1971 after a five-year absence. McLoughlin captained his country on seven occasions. He was selected for two test series with the British Lions and played for invitational tourists the Barbarians. McLoughlin also had a long career at club and provincial level, representing Connacht.

Rob "Bob" A. Valentine is a Scottish rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and coached rugby league in the 1970s.

Hugh Ferns McLeod OBE was a Scottish rugby union player, who played forty times for Scotland between 1954 and 1962. He played 14 times for the Barbarians between 1954 and 1959, scoring only once, a try in their 1958 match against East Africa in Nairobi on 28 May 1958. His home team was Hawick RFC. giving rise to his nickname, the Hawick Hardman. Allan Massie describes him as "Hawick through and through, and is indeed now President of the Club".

Daniel Drysdale was a Scotland international rugby union player. He was 65th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.

Douglas "Doug" S. Davies was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for Scotland and the British & Irish Lions at number 8.

Gordon Herbert Waddell was a Scottish rugby union player, a South African politician, and the son of Herbert Waddell. He played for Scotland, the Barbarians and on two British and Irish Lions tours. In fact he is the only Scottish stand off to be a double Lion. He had 18 caps between 1957 and 1962 - this record for a Scotland fly-half was only later broken by John Rutherford. He played 12 times for the Barbarians between 1957 and 1960, scoring in three matches including their 1958 match against East Africa in Nairobi on 28 May 1958. In 1962 he was the controlling influence in Scotland's first win in Wales since the 1930s, a feat not repeated for another twenty years.

Dr. Robert C. Stevenson was a Scotland international rugby union player. He also represented the Barbarians and the British and Irish Lions.

References

  1. ↑ Obituaries, Telegraph (29 October 2021). "Sandy Carmichael - obituary - Rugby Union - The Telegraph". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 Bath, p123-4
  3. ↑ Massie, p169
  4. ↑ "Register" . Retrieved 11 June 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ Massie, p171
  6. ↑ Sport, Telegraph (10 June 2017). "Battle of Canterbury 1971: The truth behind the dirtiest match in Lions history". The Telegraph.(subscription required)
  7. ↑ "Sandy Carmichael". Rugby World . 17 August 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Acknowledgements". Alec Bennett (footballer) by David Carmichael. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  9. ↑ Sandy Carmichael, former Scotland, Lions and Barbarians prop, dies aged 77, The Daily Telegraph, 27 October 2021 (subscription required)
Sources
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.