Duncan Stuart Crampton Bell (born 1 October 1974 in King's Lynn, Norfolk) is 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 ...

player who retired from professional rugby in 2014. Following this he spent some time as player-coach for

Lydney Rugby Football Club Lydney Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Lydney, Gloucestershire. The club currently play in Regional 1 South West at the fifth tier of the English rugby union system following their promotion after the 2021–22 season. Hist ...

. Educated at Colston's Collegiate School, Bristol, he is an

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 ...

international with five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and currently divides his time between working with the RFU and as a mortgage broker for Chartwell Funding. Born in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, Bell was raised in the

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

village of

Hawkesbury Upton Hawkesbury Upton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, east of the much smaller Hawkesbury. It lies north of Horton, east of Dunkirk and south of Alderley and Hillesley. Hawkesbury Upton is close to the A46 road. The village lies ...

. He attended Colston's Collegiate School with Chris Taylor the

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

cricketer with whom he shares a great friendship. Bell first played rugby for Bath Minis and later for Bristol U17's and colts whilst attending Colston's Collegiate school.

Club career

Bell had joined

NEC Harlequins Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

, but was unable to win a professional contract. Bell then spent a season with

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...

, prior to a four-year spell with Sale. He made the move to

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

in 2001. During his time at the club, Bell won the 2002 Principality Cup and was a finalist in the 2002 Parker Pen Shield. In 2003, Bell moved to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. Bell played in the final of the

2007–08 European Challenge Cup The 2007–08 European Challenge Cup was the 12th year of the European Challenge Cup, the second tier rugby union cup competition below the Heineken Cup. The tournament was held between November 2007 and May 2008. Pool stage Pool 1 Pool 2 P ...

, as Bath defeated the

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

. In 2012, Bell announced his retirement from rugby at the end of the 2011–12 season, and announced he was battling depression throughout his career. In February 2014 Bell came out of retirement to represent Newport Gwent Dragons. making nine appearances that season. For the 2014/2015 season he is playing for Lydney.

International career

Bell was first called up to the England squad in 1998 on the so-called "Tour of Hell". Bell was named on the bench to face

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 ...

, but did not take the field. Bell was selected for England A in a fixture against

France A France A, also known as France XV and France B in the past, was the former name of the second national rugby union team of France behind the French national side. In 2011 the French Rugby Federation designated the France U20 team as the second ...

in 2004, which he snubbed in favour of representing Wales in the future. Due to regulations, Bell was not allowed to join the Welsh summer tour of Argentina, later that year the IRB confirmed he could not represent Wales. In 2005, Bell played for England A against

. He was subsequently called up for the senior squad to compete in the

2005 Six Nations The 2005 Six Nations Championship was the sixth Six Nations Championship played since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the Home Nations and Five Nations Championships, this was the 111th season of the tournament. Wales ...

, making his

debut against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Bell played in the following fixture against

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 ...

. Bell was also a member of the 2006 summer tour of Australia. Due to injuries, Bell was selected for the

2009 Autumn Internationals The 2009 end of year rugby internationals, also known as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina, tour the northern hemisphere. The headline event of the series was an attempte ...

. Bell featured in all three games, against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

References

External links

Bath profileEngland profilePontypridd profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Duncan 1974 births Living people Bath Rugby players Dragons RFC players Ebbw Vale RFC players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players People educated at Colston's School Pontypridd RFC players Rugby union players from King's Lynn Rugby union props Sale Sharks players