Farewell to an RGS sporting hero

OUR whole school community was saddened to hear of the death of former England rugby union international and Yorkshire cricketer Peter Squires.

Squires, who won 29 caps and scored six tries for England during the 1970s, as well as touring New Zealand with the British Lions in 1977 - one of only five Englishmen to travel - died on January 21, aged 74.

During the seventies, he also played 49 first-class matches for Yorkshire as a batsman, averaging 39.50. The opening batsman scored 1,271 runs, with a best score of 70

Squires was born in Ripon in 1951 and attended Ripon Grammar School, where he first started playing rugby and cricket and excelled in both disciplines, captaining the rugby team in 1968.

England Rugby said it offered its 'deepest condolences' to Squires's family and friends.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club general manager Gavin Hamilton paid tribute to Squires as a 'mentor and very good friend'.

He added: "For someone who achieved so much in an era when sport was as tough as it gets, Peter truly shone and, above all, he remained incredibly humble about his achievements."

In an interview with the RGS alumni magazine in 2017, the international said that playing for the Lions was one of the things he was most proud of.

Playing at a time when players weren’t paid, Squires had to request permission from his employers at Harrogate Grammar School to take three-and-a-half months off work.

He was also part of the side that beat Australia 23-6 at Twickenham in 1976, and that became the first nation from the northern hemisphere to beat the All Blacks on home soil in a test match.

Having qualified as a teacher, he eventually worked in sales and marketing and advised current students to keep on top of their studies so that they would always have something to fall back on: “Work hard and play hard,” he said.

A hamstring injury sustained during the tour cut Squires’s international career shorter than he would have hoped, and he retired in 1979.

But he continued to play both rugby and cricket locally, playing for Ripon and Harrogate RUFC into his 40s and league cricket until 2014.

Students and staff at RGS held a short commemoration at 2.30pm prior to the under-14s rugby tournament vs Harrogate Grammar School and St John Fisher.

Ripon Rugby Club held a minute’s applause before kick off against Old Otliensians.