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

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 it ...

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. Histo ...

. Educated at

Colston's Collegiate School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...

, Bristol, he is an

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 ...

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 Ja ...

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 and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, 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, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming ...

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

with Chris Taylor the

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

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, south-west London. Fou ...

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

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) 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 c ...

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

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

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 Pl ...

. 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 ...

, as Bath defeated the

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

. 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 sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, 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 secon ...

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 ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Bell played in the following fixture against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. 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 attempted ...

. Bell featured in all three games, against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

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