
After the earlier build up, Andy endeared himself by describing the lunch as the most bizarre he’d ever been to. He thought he’d been misdirected and was at a Lunch for the Living Dead! No offence was intended and none was taken. In fact, given their average age many GROGs took being bizarre as a compliment. Promising to reminisce and speaking, apparently without notes, Andy went on to give a tour de force to a rapt audience. He spoke about rugby of the bygone days, his introduction to the sport in Dundee at the age of 6, the rules and standards he was imbued with then which are still with him (they were more values than rules, he said) and fascinating descriptions of some highs and lows of his career. Andy always enjoyed his rugby, particularly at Bath where he was in the company of stellar players and where he “won stuff”. He had some polar opposite experiences, playing in front of a crowd of 800 one week and 62,000 the next week. Now, that’s bizarre! We heard about his club career, his international career and, with refreshing honesty, his (very) brief Lions career. His first rugby heroes were his brother and his grandfather who was capped for Scotland but, when asked who was the best player he’d ever played with/against the surprise answer was - Jeremy Guscott. This report cannot do justice to Andy Nicol’s contribution to a great event. It was terrific! He went away with our heartfelt thanks, a bottle of Special GROGS whisky and a promise not to bother him again for at least another 21 years.