 Hill in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Richard Anthony HillMBE (1973-05-23)23 May 1973 (age 52) Dormansland, Surrey, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 17 st 0 lb (108 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bishop Wordsworths School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | West London Institute (nowBrunel University) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Richard Anthony HillMBE (born 23 May 1973) is a formerrugby union footballer who played as aflanker forSaracens andEngland.
He won 71 caps for England, and 5 for theBritish, later British & Irish, Lions. He was part of the England team that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
He has a namesake,Richard John Hill, who played forEngland atscrum half between 1984 and 1992.
Hill was born on 23 May 1973 inDormansland, Surrey.[citation needed]
On his mother's side, he is asecond cousin removed of film directorPeter Jackson[1] (Richard Hill's maternal grandmother and Peter Jackson's mother arefirst cousins both byfather's side[2]). His nephew is left back,Ben Purrington.[citation needed]
Hill attendedBishop Wordsworth's Grammar School inSalisbury, and gained early prominence as a schools international. It is coincidental that hisnamesake, who coachesBristol, had also attended the same school and both played for Salisbury Rugby Club. Hill graduated from theWest London Institute of Higher Education in Sports Science and Geography, in 1995. He also won the IB Mac prize in recognition of his combined academic and athletic achievements.[3] On 16 July 2002,Brunel University conferred upon Hill the honorary degree of Master of the University.[3]
He made his first Saracens appearance in 1993.[citation needed]
Hill made hisEngland debut in the 1997Five Nations Championship againstScotland, playing atopenside flanker. He was selected ahead ofNeil Back, who was controversially ignored by the England team for that period. He toured South Africa with theBritish Lions in thesummer of 1997, gaining two caps.
He missed Saracens'Tetley's Bitter Cup victory in 1998 with a back injury.
Under new coachClive Woodward, Hill was initially selected at openside, but was moved toblindside flanker to accommodateNeil Back on the openside flank, withLawrence Dallaglio moving from blindside tonumber eight. It was in this combination of players that Hill gained most of his caps.
Although Hill had been named in England's2003 Rugby World Cup squad, his place appeared in jeopardy after he suffered a hamstring strain on the eve of the tournament. CoachClive Woodward decided that it was worth the risk to keep Hill in the team.[4]
Hill missed the pool games, and days out from England's quarterfinal clash withWales, scans on the injured hamstring initially revealed grim prospects, but Hill was encouraged by the team physios that it was still possible to recover in time for the semi-final.[5]
England saw off a brave challenge from Wales in the quarterfinal to advance to the semi-finals. Hill was named in the starting line up for the semi-final againstFrance. England easily coped with the much-vaunted French back-row.[6] Hill played a key role in helping England defeatAustralia in the final.[citation needed]
After Neil Back's retirement in 2003, Hill switched back to the openside flanker role. He is the only player never to have been dropped duringClive Woodward's England tenure.[7] He played for Saracens and was selected for theEngland Saxons (A-Team) squad for the 2007 internationals.
Hill injured theanterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a match againstLondon Irish on 3 October 2004, and underwent surgery three days later. He was out for the following seven months,[8] but returned to be named in aLions touring squad for the third timein 2005. He was named in the starting fifteen for the first Lions Test against theAll Blacks, but suffered a knee injury during the first half, ending his tour.
In January 2008 Hill announced that he would retire at the end of that Premiership season, due to the toll taken upon his knee since his two injuries, which had left him with a permanent limp.[9] However, in April 2008, his man-of-the-match performance in the Heineken Cup victory over Ospreys confirmed his continued ability to perform at the highest level.
On 11 May 2008, Hill played his final game for Saracens, who won 25–20 against Bristol. On 20 September 2008, Hill appeared for the Help for Heroes XV in a charity match againstScott Gibbs' International XV atTwickenham Stadium to raise funds for injured servicemen and women. He scored a try in the Heroes' 29–10 win.[10]
In 2019, Hill was appointed Team Manager of the England rugby team, having previously served in a similar role with theEngland Saxons.[11]
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