Alec Hepburn

Last updated
Alec Hepburn
Birth nameAlec Hepburn
Date of birth (1993-03-30) 30 March 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Perth, Australia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight114 kg (17 st 13 lb; 251 lb)
School Gillotts School
Henley College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Loosehead Prop
Current team Exeter Chiefs
Youth career
Henley Hawks
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2013–2014
2015–
London Welsh
Exeter Chiefs
17
173
(0)
(35)
Correct as of 25 January 2024
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2012–2013
2016
2018
2024-
England U20
England A
England
Scotland
15
2
6
4
(0)
(5)
(0)
(0)
Correct as of 25 February 2024

Alec Hepburn (born 30 March 1993) is an Australian born, professional rugby union player who plays as a loosehead prop for Exeter Chiefs in Premiership Rugby and the Scotland national rugby union team.

Contents

Early life

Hepburn was born in Perth, Australia to a Scottish born father. [1] When he was a child, his family moved to Hopetoun, a small town on the south coast of Western Australia. [2] In 2006 at the age of thirteen he moved with his father to England where he attended Gillotts School and excelled at rugby union after taking up the sport. [3]

Club career

Hepburn played for local club Henley Hawks and then joined the academy of Wasps RFC. [1] He spent the 2013–14 RFU Championship campaign on loan at London Welsh. [3] [4] In 2014 Hepburn requested that Wasps coach Dai Young release him from his club contract and he returned to his native Perth in an attempt to pursue a Super Rugby career. [1] [3] He joined local team Cottesloe and also represented Perth Spirit in the National Rugby Championship. [3]

In January 2015, Hepburn joined Exeter Chiefs. [3] [5] He was part of the side that lost to Saracens in the final of the 2015–16 Premiership. [6] The following season saw Exeter win their first league title although he was absent from the final due to injury. [7] [8]

Hepburn started in the 2020 European Rugby Champions Cup final as Exeter overcame Racing 92 to become champions of Europe for the first time in their history. [9] The following weekend saw him also start in the Premiership final as Wasps were defeated to complete a League and European double. [10]

International career

England

Hepburn qualified to represent England on residency grounds having moved to the country at the age of thirteen. [3] [11] He was a member of the England under-20 squad that won the 2012 Six Nations. [12] The following year saw him start for the team that defeated Wales U20 in the final of the 2013 Junior World Cup as England became youth world champions for the first time. [13] In the summer of 2016 Hepburn scored a try for England A in a tour game against South Africa A. [14]

In January 2018 Hepburn was named in the senior England squad by coach Eddie Jones for the 2018 Six Nations Championship. [15] On 4 February 2018 he made his Test debut coming on as a replacement for Mako Vunipola in the opening round against Italy. [16] He also featured as a substitute in their next game against Wales. [17]

Hepburn was a member of the 2018 tour of South Africa but did not play in any of the games featuring only as an unused substitute in the Dead rubber third test as England lost the series 2-1. [18] Later that year he started in an Autumn international match against South Africa. [19] He also played in the following games against New Zealand and Japan. [20] [21] Their final fixture of the year on 24 November 2018 saw Hepburn make his sixth and last appearance for England in a victory over the nation of his birth Australia. [22]

Scotland

In January 2024 Hepburn was named in the Scotland squad for the 2024 Six Nations Championship. [23] He qualifies through his Scottish born father. [1] [11]

Honours

Exeter

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pilnick, Brent (19 January 2024). "Alec Hepburn: Scotland call-up surprised Exeter boss Rob Baxter". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  2. "Listen to The England Rugby Podcast: O2 Inside Line on TuneIn". TuneIn. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Morgan, Charlie (3 March 2018). "Alec Hepburn hitting all the right notes with England and Exeter Chiefs" . The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  4. "Hepburn given first league start in crunch". Witney Gazette. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  5. "Exeter bolster front-row resources". ESPN Scrum. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  6. "Saracens beat Exeter in Premiership final to seal double". ESPN Scrum. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. 1 2 Law, James (27 May 2017). "Premiership final: Wasps 20-23 Exeter Chiefs (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  8. "Hepburn added to injury list". Exeter Chiefs official website. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  9. 1 2 Henson, Mike (17 October 2020). "Champions Cup: Exeter beat Racing 92 31-27 to lift first Champions Cup title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  10. 1 2 Pilnick, Brent (24 October 2020). "Premiership Final: Exeter beat Wasps 19-13 to secure historic double". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  11. 1 2 Barnes, David (16 January 2024). "10 takeaways from Gregor Townsend's 2024 Six Nations squad announcement". The Offside Line. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  12. "Under 20s Six Nations: England U20 40-9 Wales U20". BBC Sport. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  13. Standley, James (23 June 2013). "Junior World Championship: Wales U20 15-23 England U20". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  14. "England Saxons beat South Africa A in opening tour match". BBC Sport. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  15. Jones, Chris (18 January 2018). "Six Nations 2018: England name eight uncapped players in squad for Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  16. Kitson, Robert (4 February 2018). "England up and running in Six Nations with seven-try win in Italy". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  17. Fordyce, Tom (10 February 2018). "Six Nations: England 12-6 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  18. Standley, James (23 June 2018). "England beat South Africa 25-10 in third Test but lose series 2-1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  19. Fordyce, Tom (3 November 2018). "England 12-11 South Africa: Eddie Jones' side battle to victory at Twickenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  20. Fordyce, Tom (10 November 2018). "England 15-16 New Zealand: All Blacks fight back to win at Twickenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  21. Fordyce, Tom (17 November 2018). "England 35-15 Japan: Eddie Jones' side hold off spirited visitors". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  22. Fordyce, Tom (24 November 2018). "England 37-18 Australia: May, Daly, Cokanasiga and Farrell all cross". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  23. Bertram, Chris (16 January 2024). "Six Nations 2024: Scotland squad includes Alec Hepburn and Arron Reed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2024.