Craig Minto Chalmers (born 15 October 1968) is a former
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player and coach. He represented
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the
British Lions and
the Barbarians at international level. He made 60 international appearances as a player for the Scotland national team and scored 166 points. He played at
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
with his playing career beginning at Melrose in the amateur era and with the professional era seeing him play
Border Reivers
Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...
and
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
before moving on to English sides
Harlequins,
Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...
and
Pertemp Bees. He had coaching roles with Melrose and the
Scotland national under-20 rugby union team
The Scotland national under-20 rugby union team participates in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Their highest placement is 5th which they achieved in the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
The U20 side also compete in the Six Nation ...
. He later has had a business career in security.
Rugby union career
Early amateur career
Chalmers played rugby while at
Earlston High School
Earlston High School is a secondary school in Earlston, Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfri ...
. He was selected at stand-off for Scottish Schools against Australia in December 1985.
Chalmers played for
Melrose and won the Scottish Cup with them in 1997.
Provincial and professional career
Chalmers played for
South of Scotland District.
When the South District turned professional as the
Border Reivers
Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...
, he then played for them. That team disbanded in 1998 and he moved to
Edinburgh Rugby
Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...
for a season, before moving to
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
for another season.
In November 2000, Chalmers had not been included in Glasgow's European Cup squad and requested to go to
Zurich Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
side
Harlequins on loan.
In January 2001, Harlequins announced that they had extended the loan period for Chalmers until the end of the season. By early April, he was clear that he did not wish to return to Glasgow. Chalmers scored all his side's points in the semi final of the
2000–01 European Challenge Cup and was man of the match, with Harlequins eventually winning the competition. In June 2001 he had signed to
Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...
.
Part-time playing contract
In 2003, Chalmers turned down an approach from Melrose and instead signed a part-time contract to play for the Birmingham side
Pertemp Bees that competed in the
National Division One
The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...
league.
International career
Chalmers was capped by
Scotland 'B' twice in the period 1988–89.
He was not selected in Scotland's squad for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. He was capped 60 times for Scotland, 56 times in his preferred position of
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
, but on occasion at
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
and once as a substitute on the right
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
. He was noted for his tactical kicking, support play, game management, & tackling which was something that fly halves of his time were not noted for.
His call up to the
British Lions came just four months after his international debut.
He went on the
1989 British Lions tour to Australia
In 1989, the British Lions toured Australia for the first time since 1971. Unlike previous tours to Australia, the Lions did not play any matches in New Zealand, this being the first Australia-only tour since 1899. The side was captained by Fi ...
and played in the first test. Although he scored some points from kicks, the Lions lost that match. In March 1993 he sustained a broken arm playing for Scotland against England at Twickenham, so was out of the running for the
1993 British Lions tour to New Zealand
In 1993 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. This was the last Lions tour in the sport's amateur era. The Lions were managed by Geoff Cooke, coached by Ian McGeechan and Dick Best, and captained by Gavin Hastings.
The Lions ...
.
He played in 13 matches for the Barbarians, between 1989 and 2001.
Coaching career
At Worcester, Chalmers had some involvement in coaching the academy players.
In May 2003, Chalmers was announced as returning to
Melrose as first team coach, although his Worcester contract ran until the end of June.
On returning to Melrose, he continued in a playing role initially, retiring as a player in March 2005 having made a total of 200 appearances for the club.
Chalmers also took up other coaching opportunities alongside his Melrose position. In October 2008, he and
Tom Smith were announced as coaches for the
Scotland national under-20 rugby union team
The Scotland national under-20 rugby union team participates in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Their highest placement is 5th which they achieved in the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
The U20 side also compete in the Six Nation ...
. In 2010 he also was named as coached for the Barbarians in their annual game against
Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...
.
By 2011 Melrose had won the championship title for the first time in 14 years, been in cup final for four successive years, and Melrose won the SRU's award for Club of the Season award.
In April 2013 he confirmed that he would leave Melrose at the end of the season.
Chalmers had joined
Chinnor RFC in Oxford, before then announcing in August 2013 that he was to join London club
Esher RFC
Esher Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Surrey, England. Esher currently play in the third division of the English league system; National League 1, following the club's promotion from National League 2 South at th ...
.
Business career
Chalmers was a marketing manager for Scottish Power from 1988 to 1996, before turning professional when
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
went professional in Scotland.
After finishing his playing career, Chalmers took up a job with a security company.
Personal life
Chalmers's father Brian was a former Melrose player. In February 1997, Brian collapsed and died while watching Chalmers play for Melrose against local rivals Hawick. Chalmers was unaware of this happening, only being taken aside and given this news as the match finished.
Chalmers's sister
Paula Chalmers
Paula Chalmers (born 8 June 1972) is a Scottish former rugby union player who made more than 70 appearances for the Scotland women's national rugby union team.
International career
She played club rugby for Murrayfield Wanderers RFC.
She was r ...
played for the
Scottish Women's rugby team and achieved an even higher number of caps.
References
External links
archive of 2004 profileon the Melrose RFC site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalmers, Craig
1968 births
Living people
Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C. players
Border Reivers players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland
Glasgow Warriors players
Harlequin F.C. players
Melrose RFC players
People educated at Earlston High School
Rugby union fly-halves
Rugby union players from Galashiels
Scotland 'B' international rugby union players
Scotland international rugby union players
Scottish rugby union coaches
Scottish rugby union players
Worcester Warriors players