Finlay Calder
{{short description|British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = Finlay Calder
{{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|8|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height =
| weight =
| ru_position = Flanker
| province1 = Edinburgh District
| province2 = Combined Scottish Districts
| provinceyears1 = -
| provinceyears2 = 1986
| provinceapps1 =
| provincepoints1 =
| ru_provinceupdate =
| repteam1 = Scotland 'B'
| repteam2 = Scotland
| repteam3 = British and Irish Lions
| repyears1 = 1983-84
| repyears2 = 1986-91
| repyears3 = 1989
| repcaps1 = 2
| repcaps2 = 34
| repcaps3 = 3
| reppoints1 =
| reppoints2 = 8
| reppoints3 = 0
| ru_ntupdate =
| amatyears1 = -
| amatteam1 = Stewart's Melville
| amatteam2 = Heriots
| ru_amupdate =
| occupation =
| family =
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives = Jim Calder (brother)
Lewis Calder (nephew)
| school = Stewart's Melville College
| university =
}}
Finlay Calder OBE (born 20 August 1957) is a Scotland international former rugby union player.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/player/9986.html|title=Finlay Calder|website=ESPN scrum}}
Rugby Union career
=Amateur career=
Born in Haddington, East Lothian{{cite web |url=http://en.espn.co.uk/scotland/rugby/player/9986.html |title=Rugby: Player profile: Finlay Calder, Scotland |publisher=ESPN |access-date=3 October 2015}} and educated at Stewart's Melville College,
Calder played at open side flanker. He played for Stewart's Melville and Heriots.
=Provincial career=
He played for Edinburgh District. He was part of the side that won the 1986–87 Scottish Inter-District Championship.
He played for Combined Scottish Districts on 1 March 1986 against South of Scotland.{{cite web | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19860303&printsec=frontpage&hl=en | title=The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search }}
=International career=
He received 2 caps for Scotland 'B' in 1983 to 1984.
His full international debut was against France in 1986.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/9986.html|title=Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Finlay Calder - Test matches|website=ESPN scrum}}
He won 34 caps representing Scotland from 1986 to 1991. His last international game was against New Zealand in the third-place play-off match in the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
He captained the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 1989.
Richard Bath wrote that
:"Calder's ability to use his drive, determination and innate knowledge of the game to overcome his undoubted shortcomings - in particular he was always a bit slow for an out-and-out open-side - helped him become one of the most effective back-row operators of the modern era. If he and the other two members of the Grand Slam back row John Jeffrey and Derek White could not impose their own game, they certainly would make sure that the opposition could not impose theirs".{{cite book |editor-last=Bath |editor-first=Richard |title=The Complete Book of Rugby |publisher=Seven Oaks Ltd |date=1997 |isbn=1-86200-013-1 |pages=127–8}}
When in 1989 Calder captained the Lions, he was the first Scottish player selected to do this since Mike Campbell-Lamerton in 1966 and the first captain to lead the side to victory since Willie John McBride in 1974.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/finlay-calder-1-463926 |title=Finlay Calder |work=The Scotsman|date=2 May 2002 |access-date=3 October 2015}}
Honours
Family
His twin brother Jim Calder also played for Scotland and the Lions. The brothers never played in the same Scotland side; Jim won the last of his caps against Wales in March 1985 and Finlay made his debut against France in January 1986.
He has two children.
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Scottish Sports Hall of Fame|finlay-calder-obe}}
- [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=458 Finlay Calder] - on the Sporting Heroes database
- [http://www.2005lions.net/tour1989.shtml Fin Calder's Lions] - including nine Scottish players (Gary Armstrong, Craig Chalmers, Peter Dods, John Jeffrey, Gavin Hastings, Scott Hastings, David Sole, Derek White and Finlay Calder himself)
- [http://www.2005lions.net/finlay1.shtml Fin Calder looks back on the 1989 Lions tour to Australia]
{{Scotland Squad 1987 World Cup}}
{{Scotland Squad 1991 World Cup}}
{{British and Irish Lions 1989}}
{{British and Irish Lions team captains}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, Finlay}}
Category:British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland
Category:Heriot's Rugby Club players
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:People educated at Stewart's Melville College
Category:Rugby union players from Haddington, East Lothian
Category:Scotland 'B' international rugby union players
Category:Scotland international rugby union players
Category:Scottish rugby union players
Category:Stewart's Melville RFC players
Category:Scottish Districts (combined) players
Category:1987 Rugby World Cup players
Category:1991 Rugby World Cup players
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