Colin Deans


Colin Thomas Deans is a former rugby union player with Hawick RFC and. His nickname was Beano.
He was born in Hawick in the Scottish borders, and made his debut against in 1978 when Scotland lost, 16 - 19. He was active on the national team between 1978, and 1987, with his high point being in Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam.
Richard Bath writes of him that he was
Allan Massie describes him as a hooker with back-row skills:
He also says that Deans was, "with the possible exception of Peter Wheeler, the most accurate thrower-in of recent years."
Deans was selected for the 1983 British Lions tour to New Zealand, but despite playing well was surprisingly kept on the bench for the entirety of the 4 test matches. New Zealand thrashed the British Lions on this tour.
He obtained 52 caps for his country. He is said to have been most effective when playing in combination with David Leslie.
Noted for his skills at the line-out, of the game against in 1984, the first Scottish Grand Slam since 1925, Allan Massie says "we would have probably lost that game if the Deans-Leslie combination had been less effective".
With 52 caps he overtook Frank Laidlaw's previous record.
Deans attended the primary school in Hawick where Bill McLaren taught.