TRIBUTES have been paid to a “one in a million” rugby player who has been hailed as both a team-mate and a friend.

Alistair Collie, who was just 50, died suddenly last week.

Originally from Edinburgh, Alistair – or ‘Chuckie’, or Ali, as he was known to his friends – played the oval ball game throughout his life, with daughter Sarah noting that “if he wasn’t playing rugby, he was watching it”.

A player with Dunfermline Rugby Club’s second and third XVs, Alistair also turned out for clubs including Whitecraigs – who, along with Dunfermline, held a minute’s silence in his honour before their matches at the weekend – Queensferry and Fife Southern, now known as Rosyth Sharks.

In addition to playing as a utility forward in rugby union, he was an integral part of the Fife Lions rugby league team for almost two decades, helping them to win four successive Scottish Conference titles, reach three grand finals and compete in the prestigious Challenge Cup competition.

Alistair, who also took part in ‘Tough Mudder’ challenges in 2014 and 2015 for the Families Need Fathers charity, raising more than £1,000, was also capped for Scotland ‘A’ in the 13-man code and Scott MacGillivray, who is Dunfermline Rugby Club’s mental wellbeing officer, described him as an “old-fashioned, old-school, hard rugby player”.

“He was a hardy boy on the park and was an integral part of the success the Fife Lions had,” Scott, who played with Alistair with the Lions, Fife Southern and Dunfermline, said.

“Ali, from my perspective, was more of a rugby league player. He was with the Fife Lions from our inception in 2002 and was an integral player in our successful years, when we got to three grand finals, and had four successive Scottish Conference wins.

“I’ve known him for over two decades. 

“It’s an absolute shock to us all.

“I’ve never heard a bad word said against him.”

Cammy Dunn, captain of Dunfermline Rugby Club’s first XV, said that he first got to know Alistair when he took part in a ‘School of Hard Knocks’ initiative at the club.

“He was someone who was very keen to chat about rugby. He was always reminiscing about the old days, or the golden days as he called it,” he said.

“He was an incredibly nice person who would always ask you a bit about yourself. It was a bit shocking to hear the news.”

On their Facebook page, Dunfermline Rugby Club said: “Ali will be remembered fondly as an old-school rugby gentleman, whose humour, banter and passion for the game resonated across all rugby settings – home, away or on tour, whether as a player or supporter. He was a true friend in rugby to all he met.

“Everyone at Dunfermline RFC will miss Ali very much and we share our condolences with his daughter, Sarah, and his wider family and friends at this difficult time.”

The Lions described him as “an absolute stalwart”, while Rosyth Sharks said they were “saddened” to learn of Alistair’s death.

Founder Mark Hardie said that Alistair was “described by those he played alongside as the kind of player who perhaps didn’t care too much for technical drills but ‘when he hit you, you stayed hit’”, but was a “wonderful man” who “is loved by many and going to be missed by all”.