John Noel Brian Hipwell (24 January 1948 – 23 September 2013) was an Australian national representative rugby union player who played and captained the Wallabies.
[1] Hipwell was a junior and then senior player for the Waratahs Rugby Club in Newcastle NSW where he received tutelage from past Wallaby Cyril Burke.
His first Test cap came in 1968 against New Zealand, when he replaced Ken Catchpole who suffered a career-ending injury.
He was the captain of the 1975–76 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland but a serious knee injury sustained in the match against North-East Counties recurred in the Test against Wales, forcing him off the field and keeping him out of international rugby for three years.
Hipwell's final international call-up came three years later, when he was selected for the 1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland and played in three of the four Test matches – in the game against England in January 1982 he played his final international game at 33 years of age.