Robin John Kieren Hardwick (born ) is a former

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 ...

international

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 ...

footballer who also captained and played 149 matches for

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

and played 167 games for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

Biography

, Hardwick started his senior career with his home town club

. The 1996-97 season, would be Coventry's most successful of the modern era, coming within touching distance of the Premiership. Along the way, with Hardwick as Captain, they beat a

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

side featuring 15 internationals by 19-18 at Coundon Road. They would eventually finish third behind the well- funded Newcastle and champions Richmond but lost a promotion play-off against

despite taking a narrow first leg advantage to Sunbury. Despite their second-tier status, both Hardwick and

Danny Grewcock Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions. Early life Grewcock ...

were capped by England in this era. Hardwick's only

appearance came as a replacement 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 re ...

during the 1996 Five Nations. He also represented England 'A' 20 times and played 3 times for the Barbarians. He went on to play 167 games for

where he was part of the team that won the

Powergen Cup The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...

(LV=Cup) in 2002. He also spent one season in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

playing for La Rochelle, making 27 appearances for them.

References

External links

Rob Hardwick at ESPN Scrum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Rob 1969 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union props England international rugby union players Rugby union players from Coventry