Quick Facts
Biography
Andrew Douglas Nicol (born 12 March 1971), is a Scottish former rugby union player. A scrum-half, Nicol won 23 caps for Scotland and had brief spells as a replacement on two British and Irish Lions tours.
Playing career
Nicol was born on 12 March 1971 in Dundee and educated at the High School of Dundee and Dundee Institute of Technology (now Abertay University).
He made his debut for Scotland in 1991 against England. Over 10 years he won 23 caps for Scotland, a period when he faced strong competition for selection from scrum halves Gary Armstrong and Bryan Redpath. He never played in a World Cup, not being selected in 1991 and 1999, and being injured in 1995.
He captained Scotland in 2000 when Scotland beat England 19–13 at a rain-soaked Murrayfield and so prevented England from achieving the Grand Slam.
As captain of Bath, he was the first British player to lift the Heineken Cup, when they defeated Brive in 1998. In 1999 he moved from Bath to Glasgow Caledonians.
Nicol was a replacement on the 1993 British Lions tour to New Zealand, when he appeared in one game, playing six minutes. He was also called up as a late replacement for the Lions on their 2001 tour, replacing Austin Healey, whilst on holiday in Australia. In total he spent seven days with the Lions across two tours.
Nicol retired at the end of the 2002–03 season,
Post-playing
He managed a Scottish-based sevens team, Bone Steelers, at the Dubai 7s from 2004 until 2006 and again in 2009.
On 16 February 2007, he was defeated in the Rectorial election at the University of Dundee. Former British Ambassador Craig Murray was duly elected Lord Rector with 632 votes to Nicol's 582. He was awarded an honorary degree by Abertay University in 2013.
Nicol is a commentator for BBC Sport.