Darren Crompton (born 12 September 1972) is a retired professional

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 its m ...

player. He played for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

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 ...

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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and has also represented

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 b ...

at many levels.

Professional career

Crompton began his professional career with

in 1993, before moving to

in 1999 after a spell at

. He played for Bristol for four years, making up his first stint at the club, before moving to the

for the 2003-04 Celtic League. He returned for his second spell at Bristol on a two-year contract along with another former Bristol and Bath player, Dave Hilton, helping them win the

National Division One The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

title in 2005. Newly promoted to the Premiership, they were joined in the front row at the start of the 2005-06 Guinness Premiership by yet another former Bristol and Bath man,

Mark Regan Mark Regan MBE (born 28 January 1972 in Bristol) is an English former rugby union player. Nicknamed 'Ronnie', he played as a hooker for Bristol, Bath, Leeds Tykes as well as England and the British and Irish Lions. Career Regan's England break ...

. With Hilton playing loosehead, Regan at

hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

, and Crompton at tighthead, their combined age was over 100. Because of this, no one expected the old but experienced front row team to have as much impact as they did, and they became known as 'Dad's Army'. Having helped keep Bristol in the Premiership in their first season, and after playing every game during the 2006-07 Guinness Premiership, which saw the team finish a surprising 3rd, he renewed his contract with Bristol Rugby in Spring 2006. And then went on to become the most capped player for bristol ever.

International career

He has played for England U16s', captained the U18's and the U21s, leading the U18 team in all five of their matches in 1991. He was selected for the England A tour of Australia and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in 1995 debuting against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. In 1998 he went on his first full England tour to the Southern Hemisphere, but returned home uncapped. He made no further appearance for England until 2007 when he was selected for the mid-year test series in South Africa. Many spaces were made available on this tour as no Bath,

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

or Wasps were selected by Brian Ashton due to

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

Final commitments. This meant that Crompton was selected for the tour at the age of 34, nine years after his first senior England tour, as a result of his form in the Premiership. Thus he was able to win his full

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

, when he took to the field during the first test against the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

as a replacement for Stuart Turner on 26 May 2007. Having already represented his country, Crompton was called up again to wear the rose this time for England Sevens, however he rejected the offer as he believed that sevens do not take scrums seriously. Crompton is now running a successful building company DC builders amongst other things related to his one true love rugby he is also working very closely with his good friend and mentor Daniel Jenkins.

References

External links

England profile

Profile at Bristol Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Darren 1972 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players Bath Rugby players Bristol Bears players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Rugby union players from Exeter Rugby union props Richmond F.C. players