Rugby legend Scott Hastings has died after a four-year cancer battle – on the day of his late wife’s birthday.
Hastings, 61, was a member of Scotland’s famous Grand Slam-winning team of 1990 alongside older brother Gavin.
His wife Jenny vanished while swimming in 2024 at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh after a two-decade struggle with mental health.
Scotland’s most capped centre, Hastings had been treated for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer which affects white blood cells.
‘Corey and Kerry-Anne Hastings are saddened to inform you that Scott, the Scotland and British & Irish Lions centre, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on the morning of Sunday 17 May,’ a statement from Hastings’s children, released by Scottish Rugby, said.
‘This also marked his late wife Jenny’s birthday which speaks louder than words that he is safe and with his beloved Jenny. Scott was undergoing cancer treatment and due to complications deteriorated extremely quickly.
‘Despite every effort by the incredible team at the Western General Hospital ICU, he passed away peacefully and pain free. At this time the family ask everyone to give them space to process and manage their energies and ask for their privacy to be respected.’
Scottish rugby great Scott Hastings (right) has passed away on the birthday of his late wife, Jenny (left). Jenny died after vanishing while swimming in 2024 at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh
Hastings was a member of Scotland’s famous Grand Slam-winning team of 1990
Jenny’s body was discovered on September 7, 2024 – the couple’s wedding anniversary.
In an emotional statement, released a day after the mother-of-two vanished, her family said: ‘As many of you know Jenny struggled with her mental health for a number of years and ultimately she was unable to cope on this occasion.
‘She swam out into the Firth of Forth from Wardie Bay in Edinburgh and it appears that she wished to end her suffering in what was a regular and healing place for her.
‘She loved the water but unfortunately her mind was not in a place of safety. The Hastings family are absolutely heartbroken.’
Mrs Hastings had been classed as a ‘high risk missing person’ because of her known struggles with mental health. She had previously spoken about her long-standing battle with severe depression and had made previous attempts on her own life.
‘When she was well, she was radiant and beautiful and outgoing,’ Scott said of his wife. ‘But to see somebody suffer poor mental health was a challenge.’
He would take solace in visiting Wardie Bay after her death, with the couple spending 45 years together.
Hastings is the most-capped male centre for Scotland of all-time and won the Grand Slam with Scotland in 1990, anchoring a victory against England.
Hastings is the most capped male Scottish centre of all time. He passed away on Sunday following complications with his cancer treatment
He was the younger brother of Gavin Hastings (right). The brothers played together for the British and Irish Lions on the team’s tour of Australia in 1989
Ex-England international-turned-broadcaster Brian Moore fought back the tears live on air as he paid tribute to Hastings.
He said: ‘I got to know Scott Hastings well on two Lions tours. He was a room mate of mine on several occasions.
‘The man I got to know very well was a man of huge integrity, honesty and empathy. As a testament to any human being’s legacy that’s all that you can say.
‘As a player, his partnership with Jeremy Guscott was seminal in beating Australia in 1989 and the one thing that you always got with Scott was that, in extremis, or when you were on top, that he would give nothing less than his very best.
‘It didn’t mean to say that he always got it right but you knew he would never let you down for effort.
‘Those of you who did know Scott know what we’ve lost. Those of you in the wider rugby world who didn’t know him, let me just say that rugby is much the poorer for his passing but very much the better for his being.’
Former team-mate and Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, meanwhile, said: ‘In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Scott was an iconic figure for Scottish rugby.
He went on to commentate on rugby for a number of broadcasters, including BT Sport, Sky Sports, ITV and BBC.
Speaking last year, he told how he returned every week to the bay where his ‘beautiful, radiant’ wife Jenny, 60, took her life in September 2024.
Scott said: ‘I miss Jenny every day.
‘She had this amazing connection with people and probably concentrated on other people’s health rather than her own mental health.’
A statement from Scottish Rugby said: ‘Scott Hastings won 65 caps for Scotland over 11 years (a record at that time), represented the British & Irish Lions on 12 occasions on two tours and played 13 games for the Barbarians.
‘A proud Watsonian, he also wore the Edinburgh jersey with such distinction. He remains the most-capped Scotland male centre of all-time.
‘But those stellar stats tell far from the whole story.’
Sir Ian McGeechan, former Scotland and Lions head coach said: ‘My association with Scott and his brother Gavin was always special for me because we came into the Scotland set-up, myself as coach, and Scott and Gavin as players, at the same time.
‘We came in together and we grew together.
‘I remember Scott on the Lions tours taking an absolute lead. He was so single-minded and determined about winning.
‘He was very much your right-hand man, given what he did on the field. I still remember the Grand Slam game against England in 1990.
‘There was his Lions team-mate from the previous year, Jerry Guscott, in the England team, but Scott gave nothing away to him whatsoever.
Hastings (left) represented the British and Irish Lions and enjoyed a TV punditry career following his retirement
‘Whatever jersey Scott wore, he just made it better.’
Current Scotland head coach, Mr Townsend, added: ‘His defensive display in the 1990 Grand Slam victory over England was crucial to that day’s success and he epitomised what it meant to play for Scotland – combining passion, confidence and aggression, whenever he wore the navy blue jersey.’
Another of Scott’s former international team-mates, Kenny Logan, worked closely with him when the Doddie Foundation was established, after Doddie Weir, a fellow former Scotland and Lions player, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
Mr Logan said: ‘Scott was one of those guys who you could rely on to always put his hand up. His energy was incredible.
‘I worked with him while he was chair of the Doddie Foundation and Scott’s role wasn’t just about generating PR.
‘He was very knowledgeable and would never hesitate to do his bit.’
Scott was inducted to the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame last October.
The flag will fly at half-mast at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in tribute.
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