Andrew George Ripley

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1 December 1947 – 17 June 2010) was an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international, who represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from 1972 to 1976, and the

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

on their unbeaten 1974 tour of South Africa.

Early life

Ripley was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and educated at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(M.Sc.) and

Hughes Hall, Cambridge Hughes Hall is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The majority of students are postgraduate, although nearly one-fifth of the student population comprises individuals aged 21 ...

(MPhil). His lifelong career was as a chartered accountant.

Rugby career

Ripley played for the Rosslyn Park club for his entire career. He made his international debut on 15 January 1972 at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

in the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

match. Of the 24 matches he played for his national side, he was on the winning side on eight occasions. Between June 1972 and November 1973

defeated the three major Southern Hemisphere countries, Ripley playing in all three games. On 3 June 1972

beat

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

18–9 at Ellis Park,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. On 15 September 1973 they defeated the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

16–10 at Eden Park,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and on 17 November the same year they beat

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

20–3 at Twickenham, Ripley scoring a try. Ripley was a member of the unbeaten 1974 Lions, although the test starting role was taken by

Mervyn Davies Mervyn Davies may refer to: * Mervyn Davies, Baron Davies of Abersoch (born 1952), British businessman * Mervyn Davies (judge) (1918–2015), British judge * Mervyn Davies (rugby union), (1946–2012), Welsh rugby player {{hndis, Davies, Mervyn ...

. He played his final match for England on 21 February 1976, at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

, in the

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

vs England match. He also played in a Presidents XV. Ripley was the captain of the Barbarians team that competed in the 1981

Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens ( zh, t=香港國際七人欖球賽, link=no) is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competiti ...

, a team that included Les Cusworth and Peter Wheeler. The Barbarians won the Cup Final 12-10 against Australia and in doing so became the first team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Hong Kong Sevens.

Superstars

Ripley took part in several

Superstars A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * "Superstar" Krishna (1943–2022), Indian film actor, director and producer in Telugu cinema * "Superstar" Mahesh Babu (born 1975), Indian actor * ...

competitions between 1981 and 1983, winning his British Superstars heat and International Superstars in 1981. He also represented the UK in the 1981 World Championship and the 1982 International. A tremendously strong runner, Ripley dominated the 800 metres contest, winning this race in the 1981 World final and in most Superstars events he entered. Tall and muscular, Ripley had enormous stamina and also performed well in the

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

events; again he won this event in the World Final, setting a new record time in the process. As was the case with other British Superstars of the era, Ripley could not attempt to win the events by picking up points in every event – he had to use the popular tactic of scoring as highly in his 'banker' events as possible, and holding on in the others. Unfortunately for Ripley his size proved to be a disadvantage in the gymnasium tests – he was too big to contemplate parallel bar dips or squat thrusts and while he could lift prodigious amounts in the weightlifting, his heavy bodyweight meant that smaller athletes would always win using the coefficient system. He could also have used a little luck – a puncture right at the start of the 1981 British Final cycling race cost him eight valuable points, and any chance of the title. Instead it went to

Keith Fielding Keith John Fielding (born 8 July 1949) is an English dual-code international rugby footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a winger. He played representative level rugby union for England, and at club level for Moseley Rugby Fo ...

, his former England Rugby Sevens teammate. Undoubtedly Ripley's finest hour in Superstars came in Israel in the 1981 International, when he gained revenge on Fielding and won the prestigious title. He defended his title a year later in Hong Kong, but could not defeat the best European Superstar of all-time,

Brian Hooper Brian Roger Leslie Hooper (born 18 May 1953) is a British former pole vaulter, who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics. He was the winner of the 1982 World Superstars Championship. Biography In the 1970s Hooper ...

, finishing second. With the contest as much about camaraderie as athletic prowess for many of the competitors however, Ripley's outgoing, larger-than-life persona fitted in very well. His final appearance in Superstars came in the 1983 UK Past Masters event, where he again finished runner-up, this time to another former champion

David Hemery David Peter Hemery, (born 18 July 1944) is a British former track and field athlete, best known as the winner of the 400 metres hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Early life Hemery was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, ...

Superstars record

Honours

Ripley was awarded the

in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

. In 1998, he became an indoor rowing world record holder in the 50–54 yrs age-group on the

Concept2 Concept2, Inc. is an American manufacturer of Rowing (sport), rowing equipment and exercise machines based in Morrisville, Vermont. It is best known for its Drag (physics), air resistance indoor rower, indoor rowing machines (known as "ergomete ...

ergometer (2000m in 6:07.7). Ripley won the 'Best Rugby Book' category of the 2008

British Sports Book Awards The Sports Book Awards (previously National Sporting Club Book Awards then Telegraph Sports Book Awards) is a British literary award for sports writing. It was first awarded in 2003 as part of the National Sporting Club. Awards are presented in ...

for his memoir ''Ripley's World''.

Death

Ripley was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

in 2005, and died on 17 June 2010.Tributes paid to former England rugby star Andy Ripley
Mirror, 18 June 2010

References

External links

Telegraph, 17 June 2010
Former England rugby union star Andy Ripley dies
BBC Sport, 17 June 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripley, Andy 1947 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of East Anglia British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Deaths from prostate cancer in England England international rugby sevens players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Middlesex County RFU players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Rosslyn Park F.C. players Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Liverpool 20th-century English sportsmen