Background
Irvine was born in Edinburgh, on 16 September 1951 and was educated at George Heriot"s School in the city.
Irvine was born in Edinburgh, on 16 September 1951 and was educated at George Heriot"s School in the city.
University of Edinburgh. George Heriot"s School.
He earned fifty one Scottish caps, and scored 250 points for Scotland. From there he went on to Edinburgh University. After graduation he followed a career in chartered surveying.
He also works for Jones Language LaSalle.
Andy Irvine originally played for Heriot"s Rugby Club. His first cap was against the All Blacks in December 1972.
He earned British and Irish Lions caps versus South Africa (1974), New Zealand (1977) and South Africa (1980). He also played for the Barbarians during their 1976 Easter Tour.
In the 1974 tour, he adopted many South African tactics and styles of play, although JPR Williams was preferred as full back for the tests, limiting Irvine to two test appearances on the wing.
Irvine vies with Gavin Hastings for the title of Scotland"s greatest ever fullback, with incisive running at a blistering pace from the back his trademark. A number of polls have voted Irvine Scotland"s greatest player, and he is generally considered one of the best, if not the best, attacking full backs of his era. His presence in the line often distracted defenders even when he did not have possession.
He is an inductee of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
Irvine became president of the Scottish Rugby Union in 2005. He announced his readiness to stand for a second term at the end of March 2006.
He has appeared as a guest on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio Scotland"s Sportsound radio programme to comment on international rugby games. He has also coached rugby at Heriot"s Rugby Club.
Irvine is a director of the Bill McLaren Foundation along with John Rutherford.