Farquhar Laing - Altyre 1988

By Steve Brown

Farquhar Laing with his double life size bronze and the 1st XV Rugby Team The Line-Out Bronze by Farquhar Laing (Altyre 1988)

Current 1st XV Rugby team with the bronze statue Scottish success at Twickenham has been hard to come by in recent years but former pupil Farquhar Laing (Altyre 1988) has certainly achieved this feat by producing a stunning bronze to adorn the home of English rugby. The double life-sized bronze of 5 figures contesting a line out is awesome in scale and it captures the grace and agility of the line-out in stunning fashion. The work was commissioned by the RFU and was quite a coup for a business located by the Moray Firth. The piece took 7 months to complete and was unveiled before the 2010 Guinness Premiership Final. The Gordonstoun First XV Rugby team were invited along to Farquhar’s foundry in Nairn for a sneak preview. This latest piece by Black Isle Bronze follows on from other prestigious commissions including busts of former England soccer manager Bobby Robson for Newcastle FC and a statue of jockey Frankie Dettori for Royal Ascot in addition to commissions from France and Japan.