Scottish link to inaugural final

SCOTLAND may have gone out to New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the 1987 Rugby World Cup, but there were two Scots involved in the final – touch judges Brian Anderson and Jim Fleming.

It’s a contrast with the present day, with no Scottish referees on duty at a Rugby World Cup since 1999.

Anderson also refereed the epic semi-final between France and Australia. “Some critics were kind enough to describe the match as the best they had ever seen,” recalled Anderson yesterday.