Tributes paid to ex-Hawick scrum-half Greig Oliver following death in paragliding accident

Oliver was in Cape Town to support his son Jack, a member of the Ireland under-20 squad currently contesting the World Rugby Under-20 Championship.

After making his Hawick debut as an 18-year-old, Oliver helped the Greens win four back-to-back Scottish titles between 1984 and 1987, as well as representing South of Scotland.

He also won three Scottish caps, starting against Zimbabwe at the 1987 and 1991 Rugby World Cups and being brought off the bench versus New Zealand in 1991.

The former Southern Reporter sports editor went into coaching after retiring as a player, working as development officer for the Scottish Rugby Union, the national under-20 team and Hawick, as an assistant coach during their 2001 Scottish Championship-winning campaign and head coach the year after, winning both the league and Scottish cup, a feat not repeated by the Greens until this year.

He moved to Limerick in Ireland, that being where his widow Fiona comes from, in 2007, initially working as director of rugby at Garryowen before being taken on by the Irish Rugby Football Union in 2011 as an elite performance officer at Munster’s academy.

Munster chief executive officer Ian Flanagan is amongst those to have paid tributes to Oliver following his death on Monday, saying: “We are all in a state of shock following Greig’s tragic passing.

“He was a great colleague and friend to so many and will be dearly missed across the Munster and Irish rugby community.

“Greig made his presence felt each day. He was always there to provide a helping hand and was a hugely popular character with his light-hearted nature and sense of humour.

“He had an infectious enthusiasm for the game and was incredibly passionate about helping young players be the best they can be on and off the field. May he rest in peace.”

IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts said: “On behalf of the Irish rugby community, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the Oliver family at this extremely sad time.

“Greig was a hugely popular member of staff and played a key role in the development of many young players during his time at Munster.

“This news is an unspeakable tragedy and our thoughts are with Greig’s wife Fiona, children Jack and Ciara and his many friends, family and colleagues.”

Closer to home, ex-Hawick and Scotland team-mate Tony Stanger said: “When I first came into the Hawick team, I was a very quiet, shy lad. A lot of the players were a lot older than me, but Greig was a bit closer to my age and I always made that connection with him.

“We spent a lot of time together through rugby, of course, where he was the fiercest of competitors, who always had the attitude that he had to squeeze as much out of his potential as he possibly could.

“I have nothing but great memories of him as a rugby player but also as a person. He was a top bloke. It’s just such desperately sad news.”