By John Jones

Copyright walesonline

Grieving rugby legend Scott Hastings has hailed his former teammate Iain Sinclair as “an inspiration” after the former Edinburgh flanker stepped up to take on an exceptional challenge to raise money in memory of his late wife Jenny. Hastings was left heartbroken when his wife Jenny died in September last year, with the 60-year-old mother disappearing while swimming at Wardle Bay in Edinburgh, a spot she swam at regularly. She was reported missing and a large-scale search was launched, but her body was recovered five days later on the couple’s 34th wedding anniversary. In a statement, the Hastings family revealed that Jenny had struggled with mental health issues since she was a teenager, before being gripped by severe depression as an adult. She had previously attempted suicide, while in 2017 she had disappeared from her home in Edinburgh for 36 hours, walking for miles before being helped by police. More than a year on from Jenny’s tragic death, Hastings – who won 65 caps for Scotland and represented the British & Irish Lions on two tours – says he now returns to swim in the bay where his wife took her own life on a weekly basis. While he has admitted doing so can be “tough”, he told BBC Breakfast that it has also brought him comfort and allows him to embrace his wife’s love of swimming. “I miss Jenny every day,” he said. “She had this amazing connection with people and probably concentrated on other people’s health rather than her own mental health. But she was fit and active and wanted people to enjoy life. “The fact that we swim where she went for her final swim, it’s very reflective and resonant. I’m not disguising the fact that it’s tough sometimes. It’s been good for me to almost carry on that legacy (since) she so enjoyed her swimming and exercise.” Hastings has also paid tribute to Sinclair, who he played alongside at Edinburgh, with his former teammate attempting to swim the full 60-mile length of the Caledonian Canal, which connects Scotland’s east and west coast, and with it the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. He will become the first person to attempt to swim the waterway, and will spend up to six hours a day in the cold water of the canal as he looks to complete the challenge. The 48-year-old is taking on the remarkable task to raise money in Jenny’s memory, having been inspired by her love of outdoor swimming and how she “courageously battled” her mental health challenges. As well as money being donated to a mental health charity, Sinclair is also raising money for Crohn’s disease and colitis, as well as the British Heart Foundation. “I think it’ll just be about keeping the body healthy,” he told the BBC ahead of taking on the challenge. “I’m 48, not 28, and I think trying to do 10km – equivalent to a marathon swim – everyday for the next ten days will be the challenging part. I’ll need to make sure I keep the body fit, healthy and warm because the lochs typically don’t get very warm.” Hastings is set to form part of Sinclair’s support team, with the Scotland great suggesting he may even join his former teammate for a few lengths during the challenge. Having spent the last year navigating his grief, he has thanked his friend for going above and beyond to help continue Jenny’s legacy, describing him as an “inspiration”. “I think it’s great because it brings wider awareness,” said Hastings. “He’s been an inspiration for me and it’s just taking that legacy forward. Jenny would’ve loved to have seen Iain doing what he’s doing and would be so proud of him. I can’t wait to get onto the boat to support him.” Following Jenny’s death last year, Hastings said he was “utterly broken-hearted” at the loss of his wife as he opened up on her long-standing mental health issues. In a statement, he paid tribute to her, describing her as a “beautiful, loving mother, wife [and] sister”. He said: “She suffered for well over 20 years. She just got herself into a headspace and decided that was the best option, despite having had visits from doctors within 40 hours, and a mental health practitioner had visited literally hours before, but the trickery of the mind is so difficult. “I’m utterly broken-hearted, she was such a beautiful, loving mother, wife, sister and we miss her dearly. Suicide is preventable and for many, many years Jenny prevented suicide. Unfortunately, she worked out that she felt that she was doing the right thing.”