John Noel Brian Hipwell (24 January 1948 – 23 September 2013) was an Australian national representative

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 who played and captained the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

. He played the majority of his career at scrum half and his representative career spanned 14 seasons from 1968 to 1981.

Rugby career

Hipwell was a junior and then senior player for the Waratahs Rugby Club in Newcastle NSW where he received tutelage from past Wallaby

Cyril Burke Cyril Thomas Burke BEM (7 November 1925 – 18 January 2010)Cyril Burke's obituary

. Hipwell's first international game was for NSW Country against the touring British Lions in 1966. He was then selected for the

1966–67 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France Between October 1966 and March 1967 the Australia national rugby union team – the Wallabies – conducted a world tour on which they played five Tests and thirty-one minor tour matches. Under the captaincy of John Thornett they toured UK, Irel ...

although he made no test appearances on that tour. His first Test cap came in 1968 against

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 count ...

, when he replaced

Ken Catchpole Kenneth William Catchpole (21 June 1939 – 21 December 2017) was an Australian rugby union footballer. A New South Wales Waratahs, state and Australia national rugby union team, national representative half-back, he played twenty-seven matche ...

who suffered a career-ending injury. He became a regular selection touring to the UK in 1968, South Africa in 1969, France in 1971 and Europe in 1973. In 1973 he was named as captain for the match against England at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

in the absence of the injured tour captain, Peter Sullivan. Hipwell eventually captained Australia in nine Tests. He was the captain of the 1975–76 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland but a serious knee injury sustained in the match against North-East Counties recurred in the Test against Wales, forcing him off the field and keeping him out of international rugby for three years. In 1978 he returned, playing in three Tests against New Zealand. Hipwell's final international call-up came three years later, when he was selected for the

1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland The 1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of matches played by the Australia national rugby union team (nicknamed the Wallabies). The touring team played twenty-three matches between October 1981 and January 19 ...

and played in three of the four Test matches – in the game against England in January 1982 he played his final international game at 33 years of age.

Accolades

He received the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1982. In 2006 he was honoured in the second set of inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame.

International career

*International Debut: Saturday, 15 June 1968 v New Zealand (

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) lost 27–11 – (Aged: 20) *Final Appearance: 02/01/1982 v England (Twickenham) lost 15–11 (Aged: 33) *Wallaby Number: 519 *36 Australian Caps: 1968–82 Played: 36, Won: 11, Drew: 2, Lost: 23. Test Points: 14. Tries: 4

Later life

Hipwell taught at

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

in the 1970s and 1980s and later taught at the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisbane, ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

since 1990. He also coached junior-grade rugby. He died on 23 September 2013.''Newcastle Herald'' Rugby mourning John Hipwell
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hipwell, John 1948 births Australian rugby union captains Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Members of the Order of Australia 2013 deaths Rugby union players from Newcastle, New South Wales