Richard Hibbard (born 13 December 1983) is a retired

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 ...

international rugby union player who last played for the

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

. Hibbard was born in

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

. He is married, with three children. A hooker, he started playing rugby union at age grade levels at clubs in the town of

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

, including

Aberavon Quins RFC Aberavon Harlequins RFC (nicknamed "The Mighty Quins") is a Welsh rugby union team located in the Fairfield area of Port Talbot, a few minutes away from the town centre and Aberavon. In 1955, the team gained membership of the Welsh Rugby Union ...

and

Taibach RFC Taibach Rugby Football Club are a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Taibach of Port Talbot in Wales, United Kingdom, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is also a feeder club for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. Taibac ...

. A former pupil of Glan Afan Comprehensive School, he went on to play at senior level for Taibach,

Aberavon RFC Aberavon Rugby Club () is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 as Afan Football ...

and

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

before making his name at the Ospreys. He also played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

for Aberavon Fighting Irish and made one appearance for the Wales A rugby league team in their 28–18 win over England A in Aberavon in 2003. Hibbard attained his first Wales cap against Argentina in June 2006. Hibbard missed the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

through injury. He was named as part of the Lions squad for the

2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-Test match (rugby union), test series against Australia national rugby union team, Austra ...

and won caps in all three test matches, starting the third and decisive match. On 16 December 2013, it was announced that Hibbard would join

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

in the English

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

on a three-year contract from the 2014–15 season. On 18 December 2017 it was confirmed Hibbard would return to Wales to sign for regional side

on a three-year contract in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

from the 2018–19 season. In recent times (2021), Richard Hibbard expanded even further than his rugby career, whereby he opened two successful restaurants including The Hideout Cafe at Aberavon Shopping Centre & The Front at Aberavon Beach, Port Talbot. In January 2022, Hibbard announced his retirement from rugby. In April 2024 he was appointed chief executive officer of

Wales Rugby League Wales Rugby League is the national governing body for rugby league football in Wales. In 1907 The Welsh Northern Rugby Football Union was formed in Wrexham, but the English Northern Rugby Football Union refused it affiliation as they wanted t ...

. In 2023, he expanded his hospitality business again to include Mortal Bunny (Rum) and also opened a new restaurant Sand Rabbit Bar and Grill in 2024 on Aberavon Beach, Port Talbot.

International tries

References

External links

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Gloucester profileOspreys profileWales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbard, Richard 1983 births Living people Aberavon RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Dragons RFC players Gloucester Rugby players Neath Port Talbot Steelers players Ospreys (rugby union) players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen People educated at Glan Afan Comprehensive School Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Neath Swansea RFC players Taibach RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Rugby league players from Neath Welsh rugby league administrators The Front Aberavon - https://www.thefrontaberafan.co.uk/ The Hideout Cafe - https://www.facebook.com/share/Fi7YARZpo47mrujK/ The Sandrabbit Bar and Grill - https://www.thesandrabbit.co.uk/ Mortal Bunny Rum - https://www.bunnyspirits.co.uk/