| Birth name | Gavin Roger Todd Baird | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1960-04-12)12 April 1960 (age 64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kelso,Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roger Baird (born 12 April 1960 inKelso,Scotland) is a formerScotland internationalrugby union player.[1]
Baird attendedSt. Mary's School, Melrose andMerchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. Both schools are noted for producing strong rugby players, and he went on to playscrum-half for the Scottish Schools team.[2]
He played for the fullKelsosevens team while still at Merchiston, collecting aMelrose winner's medal at 17.[2]Bill McLaren considered him an exceptional sevens player.[3]
Baird also played for theSouth of Scotland rugby union team.[2] One odd feature of Baird's playing career was noted byAllan Massie:
Within two years he was capped by Scotland B winning his first 'B' cap on 1 December 1979 against Ireland 'B'; and he won the first of his full senior caps forScotland in the 24–15 win overAustralia atMurrayfield Stadium in 1981, replacingBruce Hay.[2] He won 27caps in total playing on thewing forScotland between 1981 and 1988.[4]
A regular fixture on the leftwing for Scotland, he went on the1983 British Lions tour to New Zealand, playing in all four Tests, and scoring six tries in 11 appearances. In one of these tries in particularly wet weather, he slammed right into the billboards around the pitch.[2]
Baird was very successful at District and Club level, and scored a number of times for the British Lions, including a test try againstNew Zealand in 1983, but never scored a try while representing Scotland.[5]
He is a former team manager of Scotland U21s and is assistant coach to Kelso clubmateGary Callander atWatsonians.[6]
Baird is agrain merchant.[7]
Baird was invited as a guest speaker at theGlasgow University RFC 150th anniversary event held in Glasgow on 16 November 2019 where he made sexist remarks about some of the female rugby team players and racist remarks regarding a previous encounter with a person of Japanese origin.[8]
Baird was heckled off the stage and the GURFC has since issued an apology for inviting him to speak, reiterating that they are a club who promotes inclusivity and diversity and that the remarks do not reflect those of the university or the Rugby Society.[9]