Derrick Grant, former Scotland flanker and coach, died at 86
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Derrick Grant, a former Scotland flanker and coach and a 1966 British and Irish Lion, has died at 86.
Scottish Rugby made the announcement on Tuesday, two days after Grant’s death.
Grant played 14 times for Scotland from 1965-68, and was the national coach from 1985-88.
He debuted the likes of Gavin Hastings, Scott Hastings, Finlay Calder and David Sole, and took all four to New Zealand for the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. Scotland drew with eventual finalist France in the pool stage and lost to the eventual champion All Blacks in the quarterfinals.
“Grant was ... a quiet and humble man, ahead of his time in his ability to analyse a game and get the best out of his charges,” Scottish Rugby said.
He followed his older brother Oliver into the Scotland side. Grant started and finished his test career against France. In between, he was in the 1965 Scotland side that beat South Africa for the first time in 59 years, and in a 1966 win over England in the Five Nations.
Picked for the Lions, he played twice on tour in Australia and eight times in New Zealand without appearing in a test.
After his playing career, he won numerous club titles and eventually took over the national team, the high point of which was sharing the 1986 Five Nations title with France. The Scots beat France but lost to Wales. They also stuffed England 33-6, which remains their biggest win over their oldest rival.
Grant remained an influential figure with the national setup until 2003.