Hull ace Humberstone bows out as a winner
HAVING played the sport he loves from the age of four, Hull playmaker Simon Humberstone has decided to retire from rugby and bow out on a high after the club’s success of lifting the National 2 North title.
The 34-year-old fly-half, who enjoyed stints at Pontypridd, Cardiff and Doncaster Knights prior to joining Hull, has called time on his career due to external commitments.
“The decision to retire was a combination of factors,” Humberstone told The Rugby Paper. “I was getting to the stage where I couldn’t commit the time I wanted to, to still be performing at a level that I would expect of myself. Within that I’ve got family commitments; I’ve got two children now, so I’d like to spend more time with my family. And my work commitments are difficult to juggle as I’m working as a mortgage broker, so it does get quite busy.”
Humberstone grew up playing for his local rugby club Basingstoke before going to New Zealand for six months to play for Heriot RFC in what was a learning curve for the 18year-old.
He said: “It was an awesome experience. You grow up quite quickly, it’s a rugby-mad place and they’re pretty good at it! I was a long way from home, at 18, but physically, mentally and in terms of life experience it was very important for me.”
Humberstone then joined Welsh Premiership side Pontypridd in what he describes as ‘stumbling across the best thing that could have happened’, before joining then Cardiff Blues in 2013.
“They (Cardiff) had some amazing players at the time like Sam Warburton and Leigh Halfpenny. Warburton just got back from captaining the Lions when I arrived, so it was amazing to see how top players operate on a day-today basis,” Humberstone added. “It was a bit of an eye opener to see what it took to kick on to that higher level and the responsibility that comes with being a professional rugby player. It was an awesome experience being able to play alongside these people but a big development for me.”
After a three-season spell at Championship side Doncaster, Humberstone joined Hull in 2018 courtesy of bumping into a club coach on a random walk in his local village Bubwith.
“It’s been the best experience to finish my career off,” he says. “The initial plan was to go and play in Hong Kong but four weeks before we were meant to fly, we found out that my partner was pregnant which changed our plans a bit. I was actually walking through the village I lived in and cycling the other way was Martin Webdale.
“He was at Hull at the time and mentioned they were looking for a 10. He gave me his number and said if I’m interested in playing then give us a shout, which I did.
“Hull and Pontypridd stand out as clubs that suit me. You’re not sure why it works but somehow it does. Really close-knit groups that all socialise together and enjoy each other’s company. Off the back of that we were quite successful on the rugby front as well, so Hull was an enjoyable way to finish.”
Humberstone boasts an impressive statistic that eight out of his last 12 seasons in rugby, the side he played for finished top of the league.
Hull were promoted to National 1 for the first time in their history after beating arch-rival Ionians 31-29 in what was one of the proudest days in the club’s history.
Humberstone said: “I’ve had a consistent run of success which has been nice to be a part of. You couldn’t really have written that script much better. The game against Ionians was a 50/50 game that could have gone either way and fortunately we found a way to get over the line.”