LOT 27 1973 Scotland

| Andy Irvine

International Rugby Union jersey match-worn by Andy Irvine versus Wales

Jersey & Provenance

Jersey in original and complete condition. Bears Umbro (two globes) label, thick cotton Scottish thistle to chest, No.15 in plastic sewn to reverse.

Provenance: the personal collection of Sir Gareth Edwards CBE & family.

Andy Irvine

Andrew Robertson Irvine MBE (born 1951) vies with Ken Scotland, Gavin Hastings, and Stuart Hogg for the title of Scotland’s greatest ever fullback. For Scotland he won 51 caps, scored ten tries, was captain 15 times and scored 250 points. Polls have voted Irvine Scotland’s greatest player.

His first Scotland cap was against the All Blacks in 1972 and his last international appearance was against Australia in 1982. Irvine was awarded British Lions caps against South Africa in 1974, New Zealand in 1977 and South Africa in 1980. On the 1974 tour, he scored, a surely unassailable, 156 points in fifteen games despite JPR Williams’ presence restricting him to two Test appearances on the wing.

Irvine was more than a sharpshooter with his right boot; he was known for his explosive pace and incisive running and was probably one of the best attacking full backs of the 1970s. Later in life he became president of the Scottish Rugby Union and was awarded an MBE in 1979, for services to Rugby Football in Scotland. In 2002, Andy Irvine was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and inductee of the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

The Match

The match was played at Murrayfield in the Five Nations Championship, on February 3rd, 1973. Scotland managed a narrow home victory with the score 10-9.

Reigning champions Wales were pitched as clear favourites before the match, but the Scottish defence shut out the Welsh star-studded backline in a monumental display of backs-to the-wall rugby. The following day, in view of the Herculean effort from the Scottish defence and Irvine’s ‘impeccable positioning’ to scrape a victory, the newspaper headline famously read ‘The Mighty Mouse that Roared’. It certainly was a special victory for the underdogs considering Wales’ reputation. The result contributed to the strange conclusion of all five nations tying the championship at the end of the season.

Sir Gareth Recalls

‘One of frustration! A game we could have wonbut didn’t deserve to! Scotland frustrated us at the scrum and lineout. As usual a tough encounter. Disappointed but no complaints’.

Estimate: £1000-1500