A Scottish octogenarian has become the toast of Italian rugby with a sterling performance in a friendly match with his Angus team-mates.
Alastair Urquhart, 85, took to the field in Reggio Emilia, Italy, last week in an exhibition match with his team-mates from Brechin Rugby Club BRUCEs and stole the show ahead of his younger counterparts.
The Edinburgh man helped set up one of his team’s two tries with a sensational interception and pass, which left the 200-strong crowd at the match “ecstatic”.
Alastair travelled to the northern Italian city with the Brechin team’s veterans’ side after they made a lasting friendship with the Emilia players following a chance meeting at last year’s Scotland v Italy Six Nations match at Murrayfield.
The group spent a week in the company of their Italian friends and played a competitive match on the Friday night before the Italy v Scotland showdown on the Saturday at Rome’s famous Stadio Olimpico.
Team-mate and captain for the night Robin Leslie Melville said Alastair was an “inspiration” in the David versus Goliath-style match after facing up against a team that included a former Italy international.
“Being 85 and doing what he did was absolutely amazing,” said Robin. “At one point in the match there was a three-man overlap against Alastair and he managed to stick a hand out and intercept a pass.
“That’s a hard enough thing to do for most people, let alone at the age of 85.
“He caught the ball and ran 15 yards with it before he passed the ball to me for the team’s second try. The team and the people watching were in absolute ecstasy and amazement at what he had achieved.
“He is a legend.”
Alastair’s antics in Italy attracted local newspaper interest and the attention of rugby fans on the internet, who took a shine to the 85-year-old after his on-the-field heroics.
Robin said Alastair is just as much of a hero off the pitch as on it, despite all the attention.
The Angus club now face the task of raising enough cash to support a return leg in Scotland next February and treat their Italian friends to the “unstinting” levels of hospitality they received in Reggio Emilia.
The Scots were given tours of vineyards, treated to lunch with the mayor and had their pallets suitably satiated with food and drink for the full week.