Matt Hopper (born 29 January 1985) is a rugby union player for Harlequins in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

. He primarily plays as a Centre but can also cover

Fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. Hopper started playing mini rugby at age 10 and continued through school and in the junior teams of the Exeter Chiefs, following in the footsteps of his father Keith who captained Exeter during the 1960s. He also played for Wessex and, while studying, for Cardiff University. After graduation Matt spent a year in Australia and played for Manly, before returning to the UK and joining

Plymouth Albion Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC (founded 1876) and Devonport Albion RFC (founded 1876). Since 2003 they have pl ...

. Following two years with Plymouth, Hopper joined Cornish Pirates in 2010. Pirates were defeated over the two legs of the

2010–11 RFU Championship The 2010–11 RFU Championship was the 2nd season (of the professionalised format) of the second division of the English domestic rugby union competitions, played between August 2010 and May 2011. New teams to the division included Worcester Warri ...

Final by Worcester, but the team's dynamic playing style had attracted attention from several Premiership clubs and Hopper was recruited to join Harlequins in April 2011. Hopper made his competitive debut for Quins against

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

in round 5 of the

and gained his first start against Gloucester in the

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 ...

, scoring a try. An injury to George Lowe gave Matt a run in the first XV and he played seven full matches during December 2011 and January 2012, including an away victory against French giants Toulouse. Hopper impressed many during this period and was rewarded with a call up to Stuart Lancaster's Saxons squad to face the

Irish Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

on 28 January 2012. He was a replacement for Harlequins in their 2011–12 Premiership final victory over

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 ...

. ON 13 April 2017, Hopper to leave Harlequins and join French club Oyonnax in the Top 14 from the 2017–18 season.

References

External links

Harlequins profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopper, Matt 1985 births Living people English rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Rugby union players from Exeter Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Manly RUFC players