Saints announce the death of former player Hancock

The Dartford-born wing passed away peacefully at home at the age of 80 on Sunday, February 9.

Scorer of one of the greatest tries in Test history, Hancock was Saint #1317 and played 73 times on the wing for the club between 1964 and 1968 – also winning three international caps for England.

His finest moment on the pitch came on March 20, 1965, playing left wing for England against Scotland, with the Red Rose 3-0 down in the dying moments of the game thanks to David Chisholm’s drop goal.

The north-of-the-border side had not won at Twickenham for 27 years and looked set to break that duck until Hancock’s last-gasp intervention; receiving the ball from Micky Weston deep inside his own 22, the wing beat four players and sprinted a full 85 yards down the flank to score in the corner and send the 70,000 supporters in the stadium into raptures.

That try earned England a 3-3 draw, condemning Scotland to the Wooden Spoon in the process, and remains one of the standout moments in Six Nations history.

As well as Saints, Hancock – who enjoyed a successful career away from rugby as a chartered surveyor and town planner – played for Cambridge, Stafford and Chelmsford before finally hanging up his boots at the age of 39.

A small, private funeral ceremony is planned for Andrew next week, but the Hancock family would invite any of his friends and team-mates from his Northampton days to a special memorial service in St Ives, Cambridgeshire on Friday, June 19.

For more information, please contact [email protected].