Gary Callander (5 July 1959 – 5 December 2021) was a Scottish 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 who made six international appearances for the Scotland national team between 1984 and 1988. He played in the Hooker position. He coached Haddington,

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Watsonians Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, ...

and Kelso.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Callander began his rugby career playing for Kelso at the age of 16; and at the age of 18 collected his first coveted

Melrose Sevens Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose ...

winner's medals. While captain of Kelso Rugby Club (1984–85 and 1987–88) he led the team to become Border League winners in 1984–85 and to then win the Division 1 Championships in 1987–88. He won the

five times in total. His Sevens career also took him twice to the final of the

Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens () is an rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the s ...

Cup competition, playing for the Co-Optimists and the Scottish Borderers.

Provincial career

Callander played for South of Scotland District. He was part of the squad that won 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 ...

in 1984–85 season. He played for

Combined Scottish Districts Combined Scottish Districts is a select Scottish provincial amateur rugby union team that draws its players from Glasgow District, Edinburgh District, North of Scotland District, Midlands District, South of Scotland District and Scottish Exi ...

on 1 March 1986 against South of Scotland and captained the side.

International career

Callander was capped by Scotland 'B' in 1982 to play against France 'B'. He won six caps playing hooker for the Scotland national team between 1984 and 1988. He was captain of the Scottish team for five matches, including a 24–11 win over France at Murrayfield Stadium in 1988. In 1985 a knee injury led to him missing the 1985 Scotland rugby union tour of North America. In 1986 he captained Scotland for a tour of

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and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

during which

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 ...

won two out of five matches and drew one.

Coaching career

Callander coached at Haddington from 1990. In 1993, together with Simon Scott, he began coaching the Scottish students team. He has successfully coached a wide range of teams across Scotland between 1991 and 2007 including

and Kelso. He joined Watsonians in 2001 and left in 2004. He later offered help to

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled ...

in Edinburgh.

Personal life

Callander died from pancreatic cancer in Melrose, on 5 December 2021, at the age of 62.

References

External links

profile
on ESPN
profile
on www.sporting-heroes.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Callander, Gary 1959 births 2021 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scottish rugby union coaches Rugby union players from Kelso Scotland international rugby union players Kelso RFC players Scotland 'B' international rugby union players Co-Optimist Rugby Club players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players Rugby union hookers Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Scotland Scottish Districts (combined) players