Roy James Laidlaw (born 5 October 1953) is a former Scotland international rugby union player.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Much of his domestic rugby was played with Jed-Forest RFC, who were in the Scottish Second Division at the time.

Provincial career

He played for the Scottish Borders club side.

He was capped by South of Scotland District.

International career

Laidlaw came to prominence in the late 1970s due to a string of good performances for Scotland B, then managed by Jim Telfer.

Although he was first capped against in 1980, he didn't become a regular until 1981.

He was an international reserve for three seasons, before getting capped again in 1980.

Writing during Laidlaw's international career in the mid-1980s, Allan Massie said that:

:"Laidlaw's first quality is his courage. Only about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 11 ½ stone, he never hesitates to absorb bad ball or to take on the enemy back row. I have never seen him shirk a tackle; he covers admirably and tirelessly... his game is not technically perfect. Though he often kicks admirably over his forwards' heads into the box, his kicking is not quite reliable and he can't really kick with his left foot. His pass, which has never been long, is faster than it was, but he is still inclined to skite the ball along the ground under pressure, and to take an indecisive step before passing. He depends a great deal on Rutherford to cover up these deficiencies; it was noticeable how his game went off in 1983 when Rutherford missed the first three championships." Massie added:

:"With the possible exception of Jerome Gallion, Laidlaw is the most dangerous breaker from the scrum in contemporary Rugby. He doesn't have the strength of Terry Holmes, but he is faster and less predictable."

Partnership with John Rutherford

Laidlaw partnered stand off John Rutherford a record 35 times for Scotland. As of 1988 this was a world record.

This has since been surpassed following Finn Russell and Greig Laidlaw (Roy's nephew) starting together in the final pool A game at the 2019 Rugby World Cup against Japan on 13 October 2019 in Yokohama.

Richard Bath comments:

:"every country has, at some stage, a double-act which sees two players through sheer longevity, become mentioned in the same breath... One of the most enduring partnerships was that of Jed-Forest's Roy Laidlaw and Selkirk's John Rutherford. For nigh on a decade, the two were immovable at half-back for Scotland. Unlike most of the other famous pairings, however, it was Laidlaw and Rutherford's differences rather than their similarities, that melded them into an outstanding partnership. On the one hand, there was the peerless Rutherford, all grace and poise, who could glide through tackles and drill a ball onto a sixpence in the opposition's 22. On the other, there was Laidlaw, a gutsy fighter in the classic Borders mould. The pair played together on 35 occasions, a world record for a half-back partnership."

Personal life

Laidlaw's son Clark Laidlaw played and coached rugby, and his nephew Greig Laidlaw was selected 76 times for Scotland, also as a scrum-half.

Laidlaw announced on 21 October 2020 that he has dementia and that it may have been worsened by his rugby career.

He was appointed Honorary Captain of Jedburgh Golf Club in 2021.

References

;Sources

  • Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 )
  • Massie, Allan A Portrait of Scottish Rugby (Polygon, Edinburgh; )
  • Roy Laidlaw in the Scotsman
  • Roy Laidlaw in Sporting Heroes