Gregor Townsend , professional rugby union player, was born in 1973. He played fly half, full back and later centre. He earned his first Scotland cap in 1993. After the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup he was controversially deemed surplus to requirements by Scotland coach Matt Williams even though he was just thirty years old.

Gregor was a rugby union player for Scotland and the British and Irish Lions. He played professionally for various clubs in Scotland, France and South Africa. He was a truly world-class player, though not without flaws. Often described as mercurial, his play was touched by genius on a good day and dreadful on a bad one.

Gregor strongly supports the continued existence of The Borders rugby team, despite financial problems. As he told The Scotsman newspaper: "In my mind, a third team in Scotland is absolutely priceless because we need as many players exposed to professional rugby week in, week out as we can get." (From a report dated January 3, 2005)

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Gregor Townsend in the Scotsman newspaper