Sandy Carmichael, fast-moving Scottish prop forward who was brutally assaulted during the 1971 Lions tour of New Zealand – obituary

Sandy Carmichael, who has died aged 77, was a cornerstone of Scotland’s rugby union side in the late 1960s and early 1970s and a British and Irish Lion on two of their most fabled overseas tours, to New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa in 1974.

A versatile, intelligent prop forward who was unusually mobile for the amateur era, he became the first Scot to win 50 caps for his country, during a period when there were significantly fewer international matches than today.

At 6 ft 2 in and 15 stone – light for a prop by modern standards – he was much more of an athlete and ball player than many of his front-row contemporaries, who were mainly expected to provide ballast in the scrum and at the breakdown.

Alongside the likes of Ian McLauchlan, Alastair McHarg and Gordon Brown, he was part of one of the most consistently formidable international packs of his time, and there were expectations that he could show off his dynamic, pacey style of play to great effect on the 1971 Lions tour.

But his contribution to that winning trip was cut short in brutal fashion. Appearing against Canterbury ahead of the first Test against the All Blacks, he was deliberately targeted by the opposition for such a sustained series of punches and kicks to the head that he was left with five fractures to his cheekbone.

Although he played on to the end of the match with typical bravery, he was so badly injured that he had to be invalided off the tour and flown back home, where newspaper images of his horribly battered face were greeted with shock and condemnation.

At the time savagery on the pitch, though not condoned, was such a feature of rugby union that most players simply accepted the consequences and moved on, reluctant to tell tales afterwards.

Asked on many occasions for the identity of his chief assailant, Carmichael would not divulge any details, and many years later, when The Scotsman newspaper’s Aidan Smith suggested that he should surreptitiously write a name on a beermat, to be disclosed only after his death, he replied: “Nae chance. I’m taking the guy to my grave.”

Carmichael’s second Lions tour was also clouded by violence, as he and his teammates, who won the Test series 3-0, were ordered to respond to any South African on-field attacks as a joint enterprise – on the signal of a shout of “99” – by simultaneously knocking to the ground any member of the opposition who happened to be near them.

Carmichael played 10 matches on that trip but was not chosen for any of the four Tests, later revealing that to his chagrin he was told that his gentlemanly reputation for refusing to retaliate meant he “didn’t have the knuckle” for the biggest matches. In all he played 16 games for the Lions on his two tours, but no Tests.

Alexander Bennett Carmichael was born in Glasgow on February 2 1944, one of three brothers, to David, a prominent local councillor, and his wife, Jet (née Bennett). With sporting prowess in the family – his maternal grandfather, Alex Bennett, played football for Celtic, Rangers and Scotland – Sandy showed an early aptitude for hockey, athletics, Highland Games and rugby at Loretto School in Musselburgh, and made his senior rugby debut as an 18-year-old in 1962 for the West of Scotland club, with whom he stayed for the rest of his career.

His first Scotland cap came unexpectedly against Ireland at Murrayfield in early 1967 when, as a squad member, he was drafted into the side just an hour before kick-off after the tighthead prop David Rollo suddenly pulled out. By good fortune his parents were at the game, and were taken aback to see him running out in the starting XV.

After winning his second cap against New Zealand later that year, Carmichael quickly became a fixture in the side. Glory was hard to come by in a Scotland jersey, but he was a key member of the team that defeated France 6-3 in 1969, characteristically making two try-saving tackles in a rare victory in Paris, and he also played a big part in two wins against England over consecutive weekends in 1971, one of which was Scotland’s first at Twickenham since 1938.

Carmichael’s superb form around that time ensured his selection for the 1971 Lions, and though the terrible treatment he received in Canterbury robbed him of any chance of appearing in the Tests on that tour, some form of recompense came in 1973 when he was chosen to play in what was essentially a Lions team for the Barbarians against New Zealand in Cardiff.

Won 23-11 by the Baa Baas – and widely regarded as the greatest game of rugby ever played – the match was of such ferocious pace that Carmichael, whose lungs were burning with intense pain only 10 minutes into the encounter, also remembered it as the fastest and most exhausting he had taken part in.

Three years after his second Lions tour, and increasingly suffering from crippling arthritis, he quit after his 50th international, against Ireland in Dublin, in 1978. Off the field he had made a living by running his own plant hire company in Glasgow, and in retirement he continued in that line of business while keeping up an interest in rugby as a lively coach in the women’s game, both for West of Scotland and the national side.

Having been appointed MBE in 1977, in 2010 he was an inaugural inductee into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his second wife, Alison, a former Scotland rugby player whom he had once coached, their two children, Ruairidh and Rhona, and a daughter and son, Melanie and Trevor, from his first marriage to Avril.

Sandy Carmichael, born February 2 1944, died October 27 2021