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Richard Hill MBE is a rugby union footballer who plays at flanker for Saracens and England.
Often portrayed as the ‘silent assassin’ at both club and international level, Lions, England and Saracens flanker Richard Hill’s effective and abrasive style of forward play has made him legendary in rugby union circles. Big hits, shrewd driving and energy-sapping support play are all features of his exceptionally well-rounded game which makes him one of the most highly rated flankers of his era.
Richard’s first Saracens appearance was in 1993 and he later made his England debut in the 1997 Five Nations Championship against Scotland, playing at openside flanker. He was selected ahead of Neil Back, 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.
Although he missed Saracens Tetleys Bitter Cup victory in 1998 with a back injury, he did lift with the World Cup with England in 2003. His absence with a hamstring injury for crucial games against South Africa, Samoa and Wales was pinpointed as a major factor as to why England looked far from the world beaters they would eventually become.
Under new coach Clive Woodward, Richard was initially selected at openside but was moved to blindside flanker to accommodate Back on the openside flank, Lawrence Dallaglio moving from blindside to number eight. It was in this position in the famous back-row that Hill gained most of his caps. He is known for being very much the grey man, almost invisible on the pitch, but statistics show that he is one of the most important contributors to the back row when he was missing with injury.
He was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. He played in the semi-final against France, England easily coped with the much-vaunted back-row and Richard Hill would play a key role in helping England defeat Australia in the RWC 2003 final. Since Back’s retirement in 2003, Richard has switched back to openside. 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 injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a match against London Irish on 3 October 2004, and underwent surgery on October 6, 2004, was out for about six months, but returned to be named in a Lions touring squad for the third time in 2005. He was named in the starting fifteen for the first Lions Test against the All Blacks, but suffered a knee injury during the first half, ending his tour.
