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Richard Hill will make his final appearance for Saracens when he lines up against Bristol in the Guinness Premiership at Milton Keynes on Saturday 10 May - Kick off 3.00pm.
The England and Lions legend will make his 288th appearance for the North London club at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes due to Watford FC's involvement in the Championship play-offs unavailability of Vicarage Road Stadium. "It's a bit disappointing that Watford FC weren't able to conjure up any one of another 20 positions in the league, but Milton Keynes looks like a great venue and hopefully we'll have a lot of Saracens fans at the ground, as well as attract a good crowd from the local area and put on a good display of rugby," said Hill. "It's not the venue where I would have expected to complete my playing days and Stadium MK will be my fourth 'home' ground as a Saracen - for a week at least. I started out at Bramley Road, then moved to Vicarage Road, and now I'll be finishing up on the M1 at Milton Keynes. But wherever the venue, I will be sharing the day with my teammates, friends, family and the Saracens fans and that's how I want it." As always, Hill is quick to shun the limelight and will be encouraging the rest of the team to forget about him and just concentrate on finishing off the season with a win. "From a team perspective, it's important to end on a positive note after what has been a very up and down period. It's very flattering to get the attention I've received in the past few weeks and read some of the nice things that are being said, but I'm very clear and will emphasise that this weekend is not about me or the other players and management who are moving on at the end of the season. It's is about the team and nothing will give me greater satisfaction than getting a good result." It's somewhat ironic that he will be finishing his career against a team coached by the 'other' Richard Hill - especially as the two have been confused on more than once occasion. And, had the Saracens Hill not opted to study at Brunel University in west London, his playing career could have turned out very different. "I did actually turn out for Bristol a couple of times in what was effectively a regional select XV at the time with the likes of Darren Crompton and Mark Regan while I was at Salisbury," explained Hill. "If things had turned out differently in terms of my further education, there is no doubt I could have been playing out my career in the West Country. "It's somewhat ironic that my last game will come against the other Richard Hill. We've been mistaken quite a lot through the years. There have been many occasions when his picture was used with a story about me and vice versa. There were also some misdirected cheques from the RFU and I can tell you that at A-team level a few years ago, the players were being paid more than the coaches!"
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