Contributors

David has worked as a freelance rugby journalist since 2004 covering every level of the game in Scotland for publications including The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Scotsman/Scotland on Sunday/Evening News, The Herald/Sunday Herald, The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday and The Sun.

Stuart has been the rugby correspondent for both The Scotsman and The Herald, and was also The Scotsman’s chief sports writer for 14 years from 2000. He first played rugby in 1972, in the second row of the George Watson’s College 17th XV. He impressed his coach so much that he was soon making his debut for the 18ths.

Colin has been a freelance writer on a range of subjects including sport, food & drink, travel and finance for more than 20 years. During that time, he has contributed to over 75 publications and websites. He is also an experienced proof reader and editor. Colin covers rugby at all levels but is particularly passionate about the game at grass roots. As a fluent French speaker, he has a keen interest in rugby in France and for many years has reported on the careers of Scots who have moved across the Channel to ply their trade. He appreciates high quality, engaging writing that is thought provoking, and hopes that some of his own work fits that bill!

Scotland rugby correspondent for The Times for six years and subsequently contributed to Sunday Times, Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Scotsman, Herald, Scotland on Sunday, Sunday Herald and Reuters. Worked in Radio for BBC. Alan is Scottish rugby journalism’s leading voice when it comes to youth and schools rugby.

Stuart hails from the Borders town of Selkirk and has been around rugby all his life, largely thanks to the influence of his father, John. Not only a fan of the modern game, he is a keen rugby historian, and produces a regular ‘Throwback Thursday Column’ for The Offside Line.

Gary has loved rugby ever since he can remember and since 2004 he has covered the sport and others in a professional capacity for many publications and websites and runs his own company, GH Media.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

Jack is a Borderer, born in Langholm, and a graduate of Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh. He was a founder member of Livingston Rugby Club in 1968 and has been rugby correspondent for the Aberdeen Press and Journal since 1997. He has been going to Murrayfield man and boy since 1954!

Matt is a former member of Cumnock Rugby Club’s ‘Mean Machine’ – motto: “Well, we won the fight”. He has written about some 60 sports in a long career, mainly spent freelancing for, amongst others: The Herald, The Scotsman, The Sunday Times, Scotland on Sunday, the late-lamented Sunday Standard and just about every national paper. He survived a spell at the Paisley Daily Express, covering St Mirren and the Paisley Pirates every week. He now writes a lot of sporting obituaries, since he saw many of his subjects play. Opinionated, passionate and, as one Bill McMurtie once said: “The only Cumnock member (other than Mark Bennett) who can be let out without an escort”. In his 70th year, Matt, known to many as: ‘Snuff’, still has a few noses to get up. Unfulfilled ambition – to live long enough to see Scotland beat the All Blacks.

JEFF CONNOR was born in Manchester, went to school at Bury and lives in Lytham. He has worked for a number of national newspapers including the Daily Express, Daily Star, Scottish Sun, Scotland on Sunday and Scottish Mail on Sunday. He is the author of 12 books, including: Wide Eyed and Legless, the classic account of the 1987 Tour de France; The Lost Babes, the moving story of the Munich air disaster; The Philosophy of Risk, a biography of the tragic mountaineer Dougal Haston; Pointless, a season with Britain’s worst football team; Up and Under, an inside account of the 2001 Lions tour to Australia; and Giants of Scottish Rugby, which contains exclusive interviews with 40 of the nation’s greatest players. He recently published his first novel: Looking for Lulu.

Alex is a freelance multimedia sport journalist who has covered all levels of rugby across the world. Having gained his first break in the industry working as a beat reporter for the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby franchise for the Herald Sun in Australia, Alex moved back home to Scotland in 2013 where he has covered a range of sports for a number of leading publishing companies all over Europe. Having gained his Masters in Digital Journalism from the University of Strathclyde, Alex is a passionate proponent of digital media and is keen to establish new techniques for the coverage of Scottish sport.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

Jamie is an industrious freelance writer and broadcaster, appearing most frequently on BBC Scotland’s online and radio platforms. His rugby-playing career was cruelly curtailed in part by the weekend work a career in sports journalism demands – but mainly due to a chronic lack of ability.

Ben played centre for Edinburgh and Scotland before moving into coaching. He is currently head coach at Currie Chieftains.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

Simon was a key member of the Heriot’s team which won the Scottish championship in 1999-2000, and became a professional player with Edinburgh Reivers the following season. He was first capped by Scotland against the USA in November in 2000 and picked up 66 caps in total. He toured with the British and Irish Lions in Australia in 2001 and in New Zealand in 2005, although injury prematurely curtailed both trips. He played three seasons in France with Stade Francais between 2007 and 2010, then three seasons in England with Bath between 2010 and 2013. He has since coached with Watsonians and currently Edinburgh University.

David Johnston played 27 times in the centre for Scotland out of Watsonians RFC, including all four matches during the 1984 Grand Slam season. He also coached the Myreside club, progressing through the ranks to Scotland A and ultimately the full national team between 1995 and 1998. He is a (now retired) lawyer and was an independent panellist on the Dunlop panel, which drew up the current SRU constitution after the previous governance structure imploded in 2005.

Simon has been reporting on the Scotland national side since 1991 – formerly for The Independent, more recently for the international news agency, AFP. He is a former athletics correspondent of The Independent and a one-time county sprint champion who beat Ben Johnson out of the starting blocks in a media competition at the 1987 world athletics championships in Rome (as mentioned by Richard Moore in The Dirtiest Race in History). He played rugby in his youth as an outside centre for Gateshead and Durham County schools and for Blaydon Colts. He lives on Tyneside but his family roots are from Hawick.

Pete has been a sports editor for over ten years. He is the author of White Gold: England’s Journey to World Cup Glory and the co-author of When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971; Behind the Ryder Cup: The Players’ Stories; Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland; Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions; and most recently When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

Bruce Douglas is a former professional and international rugby player who earned 43 caps for Scotland. Between 1998 and 2015, Bruce played for Heriot’s, Edinburgh, Harlequins, The Borders, Scarlets, Montpellier, Worcester Warriors, Bristol, the Dragons and Cardiff RFC. He went on to coach with the Dragons for two seasons, helping guide them to consecutive European Challenge Cup semi-final appearances. He is now forwards coach for Heriot’s in the BT Premiership and runs his own consultancy, specialising in management team due diligence for mid market private equity firms.