Brendan James Laney, professional rugby player, was born on November 16, 1973 in Invercargill. Nicknamed "Chainsaw" for the way he cuts through defences, he is a useful goal kicker. He hails from Southland, New Zealand. He began his professional rugby career at full back for the Otago Highlanders in the Super 12.
Brendan played at fly half or centre for Edinburgh Rugby, 2001-5. He played 76 times and amassed 409 points from 15 tries, 69 penalties, 53 conversions and seven drop-goals. He was controversially parachuted straight into the Scottish team by the then national coach Ian McGeechan just two days after he arrived from New Zealand. This annoyed many ex-Scottish internationals, particularly Gavin Hastings who voiced his feelings publicly, and this was hard for Laney who had hero-worshipped Hastings as a child.
After the initial controversy died down, however, he became a popular figure with team-mates and fans, through his personality, leadership and skill. He also made his mark with Scotland, setting a new record of 24 points in a Six Nations game, and went on to equal Gavin Hastings’ record of scoring 100 points in just nine Test matches. Perhaps most significantly, he contributed 11 points in the 21-6 defeat of the Springboks at Murrayfield in 2002, Scotland’s first win over a Southern Hemisphere nation in 20 years.
Brendan left Edinburgh for Yamaha Jubilo in March 2005.[1]
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