Richard Anthony Hill (born 23 May 1973) is a former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

footballer who played as a flanker for

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Often portrayed as the 'silent assassin' at both club and international level, Hill was renowned for his effective and abrasive style of forward play. Big hits, shrewd driving and energy-sapping support play, were features of his exceptionally well-rounded game which made him one of the most highly rated flankers of his era. He has a namesake, Richard John Hill, who played for

at scrum half between 1984 and 1992.

Early life

He was born on 23 May 1973 in

Dormansland, Surrey Dormansland is a large village and civil parish with a low population approximately one mile south of Lingfield in Surrey, England. It was founded in the 19th century and is bordered on the east by the county of Kent and on the south by West S ...

. On his mother's side, Hill is a

second cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

removed of film director

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

(Richard Hill's maternal grandmother and Peter Jackson's mother are first cousins both by father's side). His nephew is left back, Ben Purrington. Hill attended Bishop Wordsworth's Grammar School in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, and gained early prominence as a schools international. It is coincidental that his

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

, who coaches

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, had also attended the same school and both played for Salisbury Rugby Club. Hill graduated from the

West London Institute of Higher Education The West London Institute of Higher Education (WLIHE), a two-campus academic establishment, was located in Isleworth and East Twickenham, West London, UK from 1976 until 1995 when it became Brunel University College. In 1997 it was fully integrat ...

in Sports Science and Geography, in 1995. He also won the IB Mac prize in recognition of his combined academic and athletic achievements. On 16 July 2002,

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In Jun ...

conferred upon Hill the honorary degree of Master of the University.

Playing career

Early years

He made his first Saracens appearance in 1993. Hill made his

debut in the 1997 Five Nations Championship against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, playing at openside flanker. He was selected ahead of

Neil Back Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ...

, who was controversially ignored by the England team for that period. He toured South Africa with the British Lions in the summer of 1997, gaining two caps. He missed Saracens’ Tetley's Bitter Cup victory in 1998 with a back injury. Under new coach

Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lio ...

, Hill was initially selected at openside, but was moved to blindside flanker to accommodate

on the openside flank,

Lawrence Dallaglio Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio (born 10 August 1972), known as Lawrence Dallaglio, is an English retired rugby union player, former captain of England, and 2016 inductee of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. He played as a flanker or number eight ...

moving from blindside to number eight. It was in this position, with this Hill, Back, Dallaglio combination of players, that Hill gained most of his caps.

2003 Rugby World Cup

Although Hill had been named in England's

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

squad, his place appeared in jeopardy after he suffered a hamstring strain on the eve of the tournament. Coach

decided that it was worth the risk to keep Hill in the team. Hill missed the pool games, and days out from England's quarterfinal clash with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, 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. 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 against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. England easily coped with the much-vaunted French back-row. Hill played a key role in helping England defeat

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in the final.

Later years

Since

's retirement in 2003, Hill switched back to the openside flanker role. He is the only player never to have been dropped during Sir Clive Woodward's England tenure, due to his prolific work in the rucks and mauls. He played for Saracens and was selected for the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of em ...

(A-Team) squad for the 2007 internationals. Hill injured the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formati ...

in his left knee in a match against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. Whil ...

on 3 October 2004, and underwent surgery three days later. He was out for the following seven months, but returned to be named in a

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; ad ...

touring squad for the third time in 2005. He was named in the starting fifteen for the first Lions Test against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, 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 the current Guinness Premiership season, due to the toll taken upon his knee since his two injuries, which had left him with a permanent limp. 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, even when playing on almost one leg. 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 against

Scott Gibbs Ian Scott Gibbs (born 23 January 1971), also known by the nickname of "Car Crash", is a Welsh former rugby footballer who has represented Wales and the Lions in rugby union and Wales and Great Britain in rugby league. Noted feats included ...

' International XV at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

to raise funds for injured servicemen and women. He scored a try in the Heroes' 29–10 win. In 2019, Hill was appointed Team Manager of the England Rugby Team, having previously served in a similar role with the

References

External links

Profile
a
England Rugby

Saracens profile

Guinness Premiership profile

Rugby Heroes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Richard 1973 births Living people Rugby union flankers English rugby union players Saracens F.C. players Alumni of Brunel University London Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bishop Wordsworth's School People from Tandridge (district) England international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Rugby union players from Surrey