Eric Peters (rugby union)

Eric Peters (born 28 January 1969) is a Scottish former amateur and professional rugby union player, usually playing at No8, who rose to captain the Scotland national rugby union team.

Early life

Born in Scotland Peters attended Brentwood School,^[1] and Cambridge University, where he became captain of rugby. He played rugby for England at both Under 21 and Student level, before choosing to play for Scotland at senior level.^[2]

Rugby career

He joined Bath Rugby club in September 1993,^[3] when rugby union was still an amateur game, so he also qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and worked for a property consultant. He first played for Scotland against Canada, in January 1995, and became a professional player when the code was changed in 1996. He was first appointed Scottish captain for the 1999 match against Italy, but sustained a shattered kneecap in April 1999, and was out of the game for over a year. In March 2000, whilst still undergoing rehabilitation and surgery on his knee, it was discovered that he had testicular cancer, which was successfully treated with chemotherapy.^[4]

Peters scored a particularly memorable try in 1995 vs Wales at Murrayfield. Doddie Weir collected a loose kick deep inside the Scottish half, he set off like, in the words of the late Bill McLaren, "a mad giraffe". When the Weirs's path was eventually blocked, he fed Kenny Logan whose mazy run made the try. Logan weaved his way past numerous Welsh defenders deep into the oppositions territory before one of them finally slowed his run. Peters loomed large on his shoulder and took the pass to then score to the delight of the home crowd to finish Murrayfield's more memorable tries.

Whilst still injured, he left Bath and joined Harlequins, who he first played for in December 2000. Leaving Harlequins in 2001, he briefly joined Fylde and Rotherham before joining Connacht in 2002.^[5] He also briefly returned to the Scotland team in 2002.^[6] Peters usually played in the Number 8 position, is 1.96m tall and had a playing weight of 105 kg

Later career

Retiring from professional rugby in 2003, Peters became a Chartered Surveyor and Senior Associate at property consultants King Sturge,^[7] for whom he still plays rugby sevens, helping them win the RICS tournament 3 years in a row.^[8] He also commentates on rugby for BBC Radio 5 Live and is a celebrity supporter of the Orchid cancer charity.^[9]

References