Much of the nation has taken Meghan Markle into their hearts since it was announced that she is to marry Prince Harry next year.

It’s not surprising really. She has a ready smile, has already achieved things in her life – primarily as an actress – and would appear to have a very caring side judging by her humanitarian work.

She seems to tick most boxes and it’s certain that any children that follow on from the big wedding day will be welcomed with open arms by a country looking for some welcome good news amid all the Brexit doom and gloom stories.

Those children – Hector or Tuppence maybe? – will be born with the proverbial silver spoon in the mouth of course.

There wasn’t a silver spoon to be seen when Russell Hillier came into this world 78 years ago, however. In fact it’s far more likely that he was born clutching a rugby ball than an item of cutlery.

That’s because Hillier has devoted a lifetime to the oval ball game as a player, administrator and volunteer.

He was a good player, enjoying a four-year spell with Gloucester as a full-back in between longer periods at Stroud, the club who remain his first love. When he hung up his boots, he didn’t turn his back on the game that had given him so much fun, serving as an administrator at club, county and national level.

And he’s still very much involved today, to the extent that he still serves up soup and bread to Stroud’s players after Tuesday and Thursday night training sessions and watches them play on Saturday afternoons.

Hillier was born in Burton-on-Trent but by the time he was blowing out the candle on his first birthday cake he had already moved to glorious Gloucestershire – and more particularly Stroud – with his family.

Initially it was football that grabbed the young Hillier in those post-Second World War years – “I was at Uplands Primary School and scored a lot of goals,” he said – and it wasn’t until he went to Marling School that he learned about the joys of all things rugby.

“There was no football, only rugby at Marling,” remembers Hillier. “I wasn’t too enchanted about having to change sports but I soon took to rugby. The school had a good rugby reputation and produced some very good players.”

Among those were the likes of JV Smith, Alfie Herbert and JB Smith.

“Alfie Herbert was a sporting legend of the time,” recalls Hillier. “He went to London and captained Wasps and went on to captain England.

“JV Smith also played for England and was president of the RFU in 1982/83 while JB Smith played for England Schools and later became head of PE at Eastcombe.”

Suitably impressed, Hillier embraced the sport and rugby soon took to him too.

“I started off as a scrum-half or fly-half,” he said, “and I got selected for the Gloucestershire Schools under-15 team.”

Soon England came knocking and the upwardly mobile Hillier was selected for their under-15 squad as well – although not as a half-back.

“They put me at full-back which was a bit unusual,” he admitted.

Not that Hillier was fazed by the change of position nor anything else for that matter.

“We played Wales at the Arms Park in Cardiff in 1954,” he said. “There was a crowd of 35,000 and it was a great experience even though we lost 9-6.

“I’ve still got the schoolboy cap that I was presented with that day.”

Although the place-kicker for both Marling and Gloucestershire, Hillier was not entrusted with the kicking duties that day.

He was three years later, though, when he was chosen for the England Schools senior squad to play Wales at Twickenham and France in Paris.

This time he was at outside centre as Wales won 9-3 and the game with the French ended 6-6.

They were exciting times for the teenage Hillier even though the players were not afforded the five-star treatment that the up-and-coming stars of today receive.

“We met and stayed in a local YMCA,” he chuckled. “The evening meals were provided by school teachers and consisted of fish and chips.”

Not that Hillier and his mates were complaining, they were just delighted to be given the opportunity to play at some of the great grounds in world rugby.

Closer to home, Hillier was having a great time too.

“I was captain of Marling’s 1st XV,” he said with some pride, “and in my final season we won every game. We used to play some tough games against Cainscross 2nds, Stroud 2nds and Old Marlingtonians. By the time I’d finished at school I was quite pleased with how the rugby had gone.”

By now Hillier was a familiar face around Stroud Rugby Club.

“I played my first game for Stroud in 1955,” he said. “It was for the Nomads. I was in the first team in 1958 and was playing fly-half.

“Stroud had a good fixture list in those days and I remember we beat Gloucester and Bristol. They were heady days.”

The next step in Hillier’s rugby – and academic – career saw him go to St Luke’s College in Exeter in 1959.

“St Luke’s was a big rugby college,” recalled Hillier. “At the time Brian Price, who went on to play for Newport, Wales and the British Lions was there, as was Danny Harris who played for Wales before switching to rugby league.

“John Patrick O’Shea, who was known as Tess, went on play for the British Lions and there was also Martin Underwood who played for Northampton and England, and Graham Hodgson who went on to play for Neath and Wales.”

Unfortunately for Hodgson, he was injured at this time and Hillier was the main beneficiary of his misfortune, as he impressed in a freshers’ trial and was given his chance to play for the college’s 1st XV at full-back.

“He was out for the season and was very gracious to me,” said Hillier, who was continuing to play for Stroud whenever possible as well.

That was soon to cause him a few problems, however.

“I played for Stroud against Gloucester at Kingsholm in the week,” he said. “I must have done okay because from there I got picked to play for the county team, which in those days was the next step down from international level.

“I played a couple of games for the county but then I got dropped by the college because I hadn’t been available to them. There was a bit of a falling out.”

But although St Luke’s had appeared to kick him into touch, there were plenty of other opportunities for Hillier.

“Peter Ford, who was captain of Gloucester, said why don’t I come and play for them, so I did,” he explained.

“I was there for four years and was first-choice full-back for all that time, until the last two or three months when Don Rutherford joined the club.

“He was England’s current full-back – he was also the PE teacher at Wycliffe College – so at the end of the season I went back to Stroud.”

Hillier has nothing but happy memories of his time at Kingsholm.

“The big games in those days were against the Welsh quartet – Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Llanelli. Particularly Cardiff, they were probably the best club in the world at the time and were full of internationals.

“Coventry were the biggest English club but we were a big club as well.”

And Hillier certainly enjoyed playing alongside some of Gloucester’s greatest ever players.

“Mickey Booth and Peter Ford were two of the main men,” he said. “Ford was capped by England. So was Alan Brinn. Then there was Dick Smith who should have played for England and the Fowke brothers, Roy and Jack.

“Terry Hopson was rated the best outside-half by the All Blacks and John Bayliss came along in the last couple of seasons I was there. He soon made his mark.”

Top players all of them, but Hillier was able to more than hold his own in their company.

“I could do a bit of tackling,” he said. “I had a good boot on me as well. I was two-footed.”

He thoroughly enjoyed playing in front of the Kingsholm faithful as well even though, being from Stroud, some of the fans did not know as much about him as some of the Gloucester born and bred players.

“I remember playing Cardiff in the early 60s,” he said. “We managed to beat them and I kicked a couple of penalties. I could have had the freedom of Gloucester that night.

“Two weeks later against Newport it was a different story. I gave away 10 or 11 points in the first few minutes and I wasn’t very popular with the crowd.

“I remember right at the start of the second half the Shed fell silent and this old woman shouted out at me, ‘Oi, Hillier, get yourself a pork pie down you, you might play better!’

“She thought I was the heir apparent to the Hillier’s pork pie manufacturers that were based in Nailsworth at the time!”

He wasn’t of course – he worked as a sales manager at a quarry – but when his time at Gloucester was over, it certainly didn’t signal the end of his rugby career.

“I went back to Stroud and they gave me a lovely return,” he said. “I was elected captain for three years which was a nice tribute and I carried on playing for them until my late 30s.

“We beat all the big clubs – Gloucester, Bristol, Bath, Birmingham, Leicester – and also played against the likes of Rosslyn Park and Met Police who produced many internationals in those days. They were happy days.”

And the good times continued for Hillier once he’d untied his boots for the last time as player as he moved seamlessly onto the administrative side.

With his positive can-do personality, Hillier was a breath of fresh air in committee rooms around the county and beyond, and over the years he has been given more titles than even some members of the Royal Family.

“I went onto the county committee in 1977 and I’ve been there ever since,” he said. “In 1998 I was president of Gloucestershire for two years and I was team manager for the county from the mid-80s through to the millennium.”

And pretty successful times they were too, with Gloucestershire enjoying a handful of wins at Twickenham in the days they were able to call on the likes of Mike Teague, Phil Blakeway and Bob Hesford.

County rugby isn’t as strong as it used to be of course – the introduction of professionalism saw to that – but Hillier remained part of the selection panel up until about 10 years ago.

Stroud, too, knew they were on a good thing with Hillier in their midst.

“I was asked to be their president in 2000 which was nice,” he said. “My father Jack, was a past chairman and president. He played in the forwards for the club in the 30s.”

Hillier junior was also chairman of Stroud in the 80s and in 2002 was invited to be Gloucestershire’s representative on the RFU – a position he held until 2013.

“Since then I’ve been made a privileged member,” he said with understandable pride. “I’m given tickets to England’s home games and I sit in the royal box. And I haven’t got to go to any of the meetings!

“It was a lovely gesture. I’ve put a lot into the game and this is a lovely thank you.”

It’s not only at the top level of rugby that Hillier’s efforts have been recognised.

“Stroud have made me a president for life,” he said, “which is a very nice gesture. They’re a great club. They’re a town club with lovely people. We’ve had some brilliant times. Rugby has been a wonderful way of life.”

Indeed it has and Hillier is the first to admit that his lovely wife Marg, who is as big a fan of rugby as he is, has been a huge part of that enjoyment.

“She’s been integral to it,” said Hillier. “She still helps out with the post-match teas on Saturday afternoons.”

And although rugby has been the major love of his life – other than Marg of course! – the young Hillier still found time for other sports in days gone by.

“I used to play a bit of water polo,” he said. “And I also liked to play cricket. I played cricket for Slad Exiles alongside former Derby and Wales footballer Rod Thomas. I could bowl medium pace and batted at six so I was a bit of an all-rounder.”

And although he was obviously no Freddie Flintoff, in rugby terms Russell Hillier has certainly proved a great all-rounder on and off the pitch for close on 70 years.