One of the great names of Gloucestershire and England rugby has died at the age of 95.

George Hastings, a loosehead prop, played for Cheltenham, Gloucester and Old Patesians and won 13 caps for England in the mid to late 1950s.

Hastings was born in Dursley in November 1924, the son of a police inspector in Bishop’s Cleeve.

Cheltenham Rugby Club historian John Woodward reports that he took up rugby at Cheltenham Grammar School and played there until 1942 although he adds, somewhat surprisingly given what he went on to achieve in the game, “however, he did not achieve 1st XV status”.

Initially Hastings was a wing-forward but it was when he moved into the front row that his career really blossomed.

“George played in ad hoc matches for Cheltenham during World War Two while he was employed as a sheet metal worker at the Gloucester Aircraft Company,” said Woodward.

“After the war, during national service call-up, George was selected for the Army XV in Egypt. After national service he joined Gloucester but returned to Cheltenham for the 1947/48 season.”

Those were in the days when Cheltenham were one of the top clubs in the land, boasting players such as Tom Price, Mike Moore and Frank Cherrington.

Their fixture list was very strong back then and Hastings’ first recorded game for the club was on January 8th 1948 at the club’s old Athletic Ground against Pontypridd, a game Cheltenham won 6-0.

Hastings returned to Gloucester in 1949 and captained the club in 1954/55. He went on to play 260 games for the Cherry and Whites – he played his last game in 1959 before ending his career at Old Pats – and also played 34 times for Gloucestershire.

He made his England debut six years after rejoining Gloucester, in January 1955, and was part of England’s Grand Slam-winning team in the 1956/57 season.

He won his last cap in 1958 and his contemporaries included the likes of WPC Davies, the former Cheltenham College Junior School headmaster, Jeff Butterfield and Dickie Jeeps.

Hastings also played 20 times for the Barbarians – he toured both Canada and South Africa – and was considered by many to be one of the best looseheads around.

“He wasn’t a big guy but he was technically very good,” said John Woodward. “He was one of the very first mobile props. He ran around and he could pass the ball.

“He was also a very good goalkicker.”

And while that last comment may be surprising to some considering he was a front row forward it’s certainly borne out by the facts because while playing for the Barbarians in Canada, he scored 28 points in one game, a haul that included five conversions and five penalties.

Hastings, who was married to Jean (nee Moore), the sister of former Cheltenham team-mate Mike Moore, died at the end of December in Lincolnshire.