David Ivor Walter Hilton’s international career was brought to a halt during the 1999/2000 season.
He could find no evidence to substantiate his long-held family belief that his grandfather, Walter, had been born in Edinburgh – the grounds by which he had qualified for Scotland.
The grandfather’s birth certificate showed he was born in Bristol, but David qualified for Scotland in July this year through the residential clause in the IRB eligibility regulations.
He had opted for Scotland rather than the South-West squad which would have placed him on the path to England honours. He made his first appearance for Scotland A in the triumph over South Africa in 1994.
His family run a butcher's business in Bristol, the club for whom Hilton first played senior rugby (with 56 appearances) before he switched to Bath in 1992, making his league debut against Rugby in 1993.
He helped Bath to win the 1997-98 European Cup, but he came north to join Glasgow Caledonians (now Glasgow Rugby) in 1999.