Hill: Munster defeat most emotional day of my career
Richard Hill endured the most emotional day of his career as Saracens fell agonisingly short of claiming a place in their first Heineken Cup final on Sunday. The men in black slipped to a nail-biting 18-16 semi final defeat to Munster at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday, leaving Hill in tears at the final whistle.
The 34-year-old World Cup winner, who has fought his way back from two knee reconstructions, will hang up his boots at the end of the season after 15 years of service with Saracens.
"It was always going to be emotional," Hill said.
"It was tough coming off at the end. It's definitely the last time I play in that level of competition.
"Given what I have been through there was huge satisfaction that I could still play at that level.
"It's a hard pill to take but it's one we have to take."
London Irish also narrowly failed to beat more fancied opponents as they went down 21-15 to three-times winners Toulouse at Twickenham on Saturday.
Winger Topsy Ojo played his way into England contention with a brilliant try-scoring display but Brian Smith's men were unable to capitalise on some sustained late pressure.
England star Peter Richards insists the Exiles now believe they can compete consistently on the biggest stage.
He said: "For a young team to know we can compete with the very best in Europe is tremendously encouraging.
"We know on our day we can beat the best and when we come into these situations in the future we will be able to take a lot from this journey."
Comments
Add a comment
Be the first to comment on this
If you are a Gambling.com member, please login at the top left of this page.
If you are not a Gambling.com member, please complete our sign up form—membership is free and it takes just a minute or two to sign up.