Dream Team: John Beatie – Former Scotland and Lions No.8

1. David Sole – He was so young when he first showed up for training but already a fantastic prop. You could tell he would be a real leader of men and he showed that in the 1990 Grand Slam.
2. Brian Moore – A really tough man and a very good hooker in a strong England team. I get the feeling we have a frosty relationship, though not from my side.
3. Gary Knight – A huge man in a great All Black team, I played against him on the 1983 Lions Tour. I’d never seen a prop that big.
4. Alan Toms – We played together for Hawick, Scotland and the Lions. He used to come up to training from Newcastle in his Morris Minor. He was a great second row as well.
5. Bill Beaumont – Not the biggest man but one of the hardest I ever faced. He was just a really tough man and a great leader for England and the Lions.
6. Jean-Pierre Rives – I remember one game he played against Australia with just one shoulder working. He played the whole game but that was how he played, always covered in blood. He was an artist as well, that’s how he saw rugby.
7. David Leslie – An incredibly strong player and should have won a lot more caps than he did. Once against the All Blacks he pretty much held their entire pack on his own.
8. Dean Richards – I would stick myself in but I’ll go for Dean. The ball just seemed to gravitate towards him. He was also a very big man and tough to stop when he got going.
9. Roy Laidlaw – The day after Scotland won the Slam in 1984 Roy was fitting a bulb in the public toilets in Jedburgh. A fantastic No.9 who had a great partnership with my next player.
10. John Rutherford – He was so much better than the rest of us that we’d pull his chair away before dinner! If fit we knew he would be the best player on the pitch.
11. John Kirwan – On the 1983 Lions tour we played Auckland and I’d never seen anyone that big before playing on the wing.
12. Ray Gravell – We sadly lost Ray last year but I remember watching him when I was a youngster and then playing against him. A fantastic player and a genuinely nice man.
13. Jim Renwick – A great player, but what stands out was the day after my first cap on the plane home he recounted all the bad things I had been up to the night before. My mum and dad were on the plane as well which was very good of him.
14. Roger Baird – Famously never scored for Scotland, although he did for the Lions. He used to make so many tries though that I can’t leave him out of my team, a fantastic runner up the touchline.
15. Gavin Hastings – The first time he and Scott turned up they had such confidence. Gavin was a brilliant full-back, he’s a really big guy and had everything. He was also quite a leader as well.