Gavin Lyle Hill (born 11 December 1965) is a New Zealand former

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 ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

the 2000s. He resided in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

for 10-years before moving back to Auckland in 2008 to take a coaching position in the Air New Zealand Cup. He was a flanker and number eight in

and then a / in league when he switched codes in 1991. In both rugby and league he was unusual, being a forward who kicked goals. Hill was also a very promising fast bowler and belligerent batsman in cricket for both

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

before rugby took over his career.

Rugby union

He originally played rugby union as a flanker for the

and

. He also represented the New Zealand Māori Team. Hill returned to rugby union in 1998 and played out the rest of his playing career in

and alternating in the off seasons to Europe and Canada playing club rugby. He first made a name for himself as a 17-year-old when beat the cream of New Zealand rugby in a national goal kicking competition. Participants included

Grant Fox Grant James Fox (born 16 June 1962) is a former rugby union player from New Zealand. He was a member of the All Blacks team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. He is also the father of professional golfer, Ryan Fox. Playing career ...

, Richard Wilson, Mark Finlay,

Allan Hewson Allan Roy Hewson (born 6 June 1954) represented the New Zealand All Blacks in 19 Rugby Union internationals between 1981 and 1984. Hewson played at fullback. Since his retirement from international rugby Hewson has continued to be involved with ...

, Richard Dunn and

Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans had ...

– notable for being

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

. Hill comes from a prominent sporting family – 5 of his great uncles (Warbrick) were part of the first ever New Zealand team to leave New Zealand (1884 Native team). One of those brothers –

Joe Warbrick Joseph Astbury Warbrick (1 January 1862 – 30 August 1903) was a Māori rugby union player who represented New Zealand on their 1884 tour to Australia and later captained the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team that embarked on a ...

went on to become an All Black and play a major part in the beginnings of All Black rugby. Other notables were the famous All Black lock cum flanker during the 1950s Stan "Tiny" Hill who later went on to be an All Black selector. Tiny's two sons' Stan and John went on to represent New Zealand in Basketball and Stans' son Ben now is a current Tall Black. Hills father Brian was a prominent flanker for Taranaki and another uncle – Greg Hill played for the New Zealand Armed Services and Wanganui. His brother David was a New Zealand Armed Services representative. Another cousin Wayne Hill was a New Zealand Colt and prominent winger for North Harbour and Auckland during the 1980s. Hill coached club rugby in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

domestic club competition. He is now residing in Auckland coaching the Auckland Storm in the Air New Zealand Cup for 2008.New Auckland Storm Coach Named
Auckland Rugby

Rugby league

He switched to rugby league in 1992, as union was not professional at that time. He played for the

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

(1992–93),

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

(1993),

Waikato Cougars The Waikato rugby league team (also known as the Waikato Cougars, formerly as South Auckland) is a New Zealand rugby league team that represents the Waikato Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They competed in the Lion Red Cup ...

(1994),

Auckland Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

(1995–96) and for the

New Zealand Kiwis The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori language, Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the ...

(1992–96) national side. He also represented

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in the 1996 World Champion nines side in

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 ...

, the

New Zealand Residents The New Zealand Residents (also previously known as New Zealand 'A', New Zealand XIII, the Lion Red Cup XIII and currently known as the Bartercard Premiership Selection) are a New Zealand rugby league football representative side that is selected f ...

in 1994 and the New Zealand Māori league team notable for defeating the British Lions team and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

teams in 1996. After Hill finished with the Auckland Warriors, he played a season in the domestic club competition in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

with the

Northcote Tigers The Northcote Tigers are a rugby league club based in Northcote, Auckland, Northcote, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1910 as the Northcote Warriors though they became known as the Northcote Ramblers shortly afterwards.John Haynes ''From A ...

before he moved to Wellington and returned to rugby union successfully. Hill's transition from rugby union to rugby league was even more remarkable because he is one of the few forwards in rugby union to successfully make the switch. Hill made the New Zealand Kiwis only after three games of rugby league for the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Gavin 1965 births Living people Canterbury rugby union players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Featherstone Rovers players Māori All Blacks players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand Warriors players Northcote Tigers players Rugby league players from Taranaki Rugby union players from Taranaki Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Taranaki rugby union players Waikato rugby league team players Wellington rugby union players