Alexander Bennett Carmichael MBE (2 February 1944 – 27 October 2021) was a

Scottish rugby union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...

international forward. The first player to earn 50 caps for Scotland,Jack Davidson
'Obituary: Sandy Carmichael, Rugby player who was first Scot to earn 50 caps'
''The Scotsman'', 13 November 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2025 the tightead prop was selected for two Lions tours.Bath, pp. 123–124Massie, p. 169

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Raised in

Newton Mearns Newton Mearns ( ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the A77 road, main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 26,993, stre ...

, Carmichael was a tighthead prop and part of the West of Scotland side in the 1970s – a powerhouse in UK rugby, averaging 10 internationalists in the team per season, and dominating the domestic league with West's great rivals, Hawick RFC. Carmichael charged down a drop out and returned for a score in a memorable 32–6 victory against Hawick to win the league in 1973.

Provincial career

He played for Glasgow District. He played for Scotland Possibles in the trial match of 11 January 1975.

International career

He earned 50 caps for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

from 1967 to 1978 which was a record for a Scottish player at the time.Massie, p171 He played for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

on the 1971 tour to

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, but was invalided out of the tour in

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, after multiple punches by the opposition fractured his cheekbone. Carmichael also went on the 1974 tour to South Africa, but did not make the test side.

Canterbury Incident

Carmichael was mainly remembered for being the victim of violence in the 1971 tour where he received five fractures of the cheekbone, yet still played until final whistle. The match was described as an extremely violent match and often referred to as the 'Battle of Canterbury'. The referee at one point told the captains that from that moment onwards he was going to follow the ball and it was up to them to sort out anything else. Carmichael had to leave the tour following the Canterbury match, as did three other players including Ray McLoughlin the loose head prop. In this one game the Lions lost both of their first choice props. The second string of Ian McLauchlan who was already in the Lions squad and Sean Lynch stepped into the breach and proved very effective; even though the Lions lost some of the options that McLoughlin and Carmichael would have given them. The Lions intended test front row, which included John Pullin of England, came together again for the Barbarians in the famous match against the All Blacks in January 1973.

Honours

He was awarded an MBE in the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours.

Personal life

Carmichael was the grandson of Alec Bennett who played

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for

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, Rangers and

in the early 20th century. He died on 27 October 2021, at the age of 77.Sandy Carmichael, former Scotland, Lions and Barbarians prop, dies aged 77
The Daily Telegraph, 27 October 2021

References

;Sources * Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) * Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

External links

Sandy Carmichael
on the Sporting Heroes database {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Sandy 1944 births 2021 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland West of Scotland FC players People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Glasgow District (rugby union) players Scotland Possibles players Rugby union props Rugby union players from Glasgow Rugby union players from East Renfrewshire People from Newton Mearns