The forthcoming test match offers a chance to hear from rugby greats, writes JULENA DRUMI

Rugby fans anticipating next months’s test match against the All Blacks are being offered the chance to experience past glories and hear from legendary captains of the New Zealand team.

Watsonian Football Club will host former captain and World Cup winner Sean Fitzpatrick and Scottish rugby icon Gavin Hastings at ‘The Hoodoo Lunch’ at The George Hotel, Edinburgh, on Friday, 6 November.

Taking place on the eve of Scotland’s Nations Championship test match against New Zealand, the event is chaired by BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English, and will examine rugby’s ultimate rivalry, shared memories of battling the All Blacks, and Scotland’s ongoing quest to break the “Hoodoo”.

Gavin Hastings is the only Scot to captain a winning test match side against the All Blacks, in the second Lions test in 1993, and the afternoon will also feature contributions from Watsonian internationalists who took on New Zealand over the decades. 

Watsonian Football Club president John McLellan says: “New Zealand don’t seem to be getting any weaker, but we hope our first Hoodoo lunch will also be the last if Scotland score a historic victory the day after. We’re looking forward to hearing from Gavin and Sean about how it might be achieved.”

The lunch is in aid of Maggie’s Centre, in memory of Scott Hastings, the British Heart Foundation and Watsonian Football Club.

Fans will get a chance to celebrate or commiserate when Richie McCaw is the special guest of The Sporting Club Scotland at Tynecastle Stadium after the match.

Regarded as one of the greatest rugby players and captains of all time, McCaw led New Zealand to back-to-back Rugby World Cup victories in 2011 and 2015 and was named World Rugby Player of the Year three times during an extraordinary international career spanning 148 Tests.

Organised by The Sporting Club Scotland, the event will give Club members and non-members the opportunity to hear first-hand from McCaw as he looks back on his career at the very highest level of the game, sharing stories from inside the All Blacks camp, his experiences of leadership and performing under pressure, and some of the defining moments of his career.

The evening will include a welcome drink, three-course dinner with wine, and interviews with Richie and special rugby guests, with funds also being raised for DEBRA, the butterfly skin charity.

Logan Rowan, chairman of The Sporting Club Scotland, said: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Richie McCaw to Edinburgh. He is one of the greatest names in world rugby and someone whose achievements, leadership and longevity at the very highest level of sport are extraordinary.

“With Scotland playing New Zealand at Murrayfield earlier that day, the timing couldn’t be better. It promises to be a very special evening and a rare opportunity to hear directly from Richie about the moments, people and experiences that shaped such an exceptional career.”