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Northampton's Ian Hunter could slot in either on the wing or at fullback, and was also one of the fittest men to pull on the white shirt, setting record scores in the dreaded VO2 Max 'Bleep Test', a fiendish examination of a player's aerobic capacity. Ian made his debut against Canada at Wembley in 1992, and marked the occasion with two tries in England's 26-13 win. He was then forced to pull out of the squad to face South Africa at Twickenham due to an injury suffered in training and was replaced by Tony Underwood. Ian was fit again for the 1993 Five Nations, and made a name for himself in the first match against France when he scored a try after Jon Webb's penalty attempt had rebounded off the posts.
However, England's luck ran out in their next match against Wales in Cardiff and they went down 10-9, despite dominating much of the game. Three tries in three games was not enough to save Hunter's place and he was dropped, with Underwood junior his replacement once more. Though Ian did not feature again in the Five Nations that season, he had gained several admirers and was selected for the British Lions tour to New Zealand. Unfortunately, Hunter's tour ended almost as soon as it started when he dislocated his shoulder in the Lions opening match against North Auckland. Ian did make four more appearances for England, two in the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, but the shoulder was never really the same again and he struggled to recapture his old form. Ian's seventh and final international appearance came in the 3rd/4th play off defeat by France, and he retired from all forms of rugby in 1999. (Jon Collins)
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