David Leslie (born 14 April 1952) is a former
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
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 it ...
player. He usually played at number eight, but occasionally at flanker.
[Massie, p194] He played for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
32 times between 1975 and 1985.
[Bath p146]
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Leslie went to school at
High School of Dundee
The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...
and
Glenalmond College
Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. ...
.
[ He went on to play for ]Dundee HSFP
Dundee HSFP is a former rugby union team that played their home games at the Mayfield Playing Fields, Dundee, Scotland. The club disbanded in 2021.
The team was founded in 1880 by former pupils of the High School of Dundee. The men's side play ...
.
Leslie then played for Gala
Gala may refer to:
Music
* ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush
*'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman
*GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups
*''Gala'', a 1986 album by T ...
, which he captained.[Massie, p192]
Provincial career
Leslie played for North and Midlands
North and Midlands - and now known as Caledonia - is a select provincial amateur rugby union team that draws its players mainly from north of Scotland, roughly corresponding from around Stirling northwards.
Historically the North and Midlands te ...
. He was part of the North and Midlands
North and Midlands - and now known as Caledonia - is a select provincial amateur rugby union team that draws its players mainly from north of Scotland, roughly corresponding from around Stirling northwards.
Historically the North and Midlands te ...
side that shared the Scottish Inter-District Championship
The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats.
The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...
(with Glasgow District) in 1974–75 season.
Leslie started the trial match of 11 January 1975 in the Scotland Possibles side. A strange match; it was split into 3 thirds of 30 minutes each; and the total playing time went to 100 minutes when summing when each third went dead. The Possibles raced into an early commanding lead but personnel movements saw the Scotland Probables side come back into the match. One of those personnel movements was the promotion of Leslie into the Probables side in the second third, with the ''Glasgow Herald'' noting that he had an excellent game throughout. Although the Probables eventually took a one-point lead in the match, the Possibles fought back at the end to win.
International career
Leslie was capped by Scotland 'B' twice in the period 1974-75 while still with Dundee HSFP
Dundee HSFP is a former rugby union team that played their home games at the Mayfield Playing Fields, Dundee, Scotland. The club disbanded in 2021.
The team was founded in 1880 by former pupils of the High School of Dundee. The men's side play ...
.
Leslie was first capped against Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in 1975, but did not become a regular on the Scotland squad until 1981.[
Leslie spent much of his playing time injured, missing the 1977, 1978, 1979 Five Nations, and half of the 1980 season.][ He broke a leg in 1982, missing the 1982 Scotland rugby union tour of Australia.][
Leslie scored Scotland's first try against in 1984, only his second for Scotland.][
Controversially, Leslie was left off the 1983 British Lions tour to New Zealand.][ In 1984, he was voted '']Rugby World
''Rugby World'' is a monthly rugby union magazine running since October 1960. It is published monthly by Future plc and edited by Owain Jones who took over from long-standing editor Paul Morgan in January 2012. Paul Morgan was long considered ...
s "Player of the Season",[ - the only ever Scottish winner - following his performances as an ever-present in the Grand Slam winning team of that year.
Richard Bath writes of him that:][
]Throughout his career, he was consistently the most focussed and fearless player in a Scottish squad which had more than its fair share of fearless breakaways... for all his intensity, Leslie found it hard to establish himself in the Scottish side until late on in his career.
Allan Massie
Allan Johnstone Massie (born 16 October 1938) is a Scottish journalist, columnist, sports writer and novelist. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has lived in the Scottish Borders for the last 25 years, and now lives in Se ...
considered that:[Massie, p192-3]
Leslie's first quality is courage. All back-row forwards have to be brave, but Leslie's courage defies reason and probability alike: he reckons any ball on the ground is his to win. The courage is so blinding that one is apt to overlook the skill, judgement and timing with which he launches himself at such balls and attaches himself to them. He is in fact a very skilful educated player (he often played fly-half in his schooldays). He gives and takes a pass better than most of the Scottish three-quarter line. He has acquired the knack of dipping his shoulder into the tackler and slipping the ball at the same moment to a supporting player. He kicks well. Perhaps though his greatest asset with the ball in his hand is his intuitive knowledge of what is right. Jim Telfer
James Telfer (born 17 March 1940) is a Scottish former rugby union coach and player. As a player, he won 21 international caps in the amateur era, also having a career as a headmaster at Hawick High School and Galashiels Academy and Forrester H ...
has said that he can stop worrying when Leslie has the ball, being 99 per cent sure that he will out it to the best use possible. This is a quality that many of even the best and most spectacular of back-row men never acquire.
References
;Sources
# Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 )
# Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, David
1952 births
Living people
Scottish rugby union players
Scotland international rugby union players
People educated at the High School of Dundee
People educated at Glenalmond College
Gala RFC players
Dundee HSFP players
West of Scotland FC players
North and Midlands players
Rugby union number eights
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union players from Dundee
Scotland Possibles players
Scotland Probables players