Sad to hear of the passing of ex-Wallaby great John Hipwell. For any younger fans who may not know him. Hipwell was a Wallaby scrumhalf in the late 60s to early 80s some of those years interrupted by long injury breaks. During his time he was regarded as one of the best scrumhalfs in the world even though he played behind a lot of beaten Wallaby packs. Probably this is not the best comparison but his style of play was similar to Pere Weepu of the ABs. Still remember as a kid his great performance against the ABs at Eden Park 1978 when the Wallabies thumped them 30-16.Sad to hear of the passing of ex-Wallaby great John Hipwell. For any younger fans who may not know him. Hipwell was a Wallaby scrumhalf in the late 60s to early 80s some of those years interrupted by long injury breaks. During his time he was regarded as one of the best scrumhalfs in the world even though he played behind a lot of beaten Wallaby packs. Probably this is not the best comparison but his style of play was similar to Pere Weepu of the ABs. Still remember as a kid his great performance against the ABs at Eden Park 1978 when the Wallabies thumped them 30-16.

I hadn't heard. A great loss to Australian rugby and to world rugby. He was the backup to Catchpole and took over after Meads used catchpole as a wishbone. He was halfback to the side that beat the ABs in New Zealand in 1978. I'm pretty sure he was country half back when they beat Sydney with the famous(?) up the jumper try. He was a stalwart and was often called back into the team when the current half played poorly.

It really is very important to remember our heroes. We play rugby because of the great times we had and the great mates we played with. Our own (however minor) stories are mirrored by the true greats of the Game. Hipwell is one of those, and the memories he invokes are proof of the pudding. Hip hip hoorah. Mark L