Hill inspiring nation’s new golden generation
The 2003 World Cup winner is the great survivor of the Jones era, nurturing the cream of the forward talents on show today
It was Serge Betsen, the great France back-row, who probably offered t he most s uccinct description of his great rival Richard Hill. “He comes from the shadows. From the darkness.”
The “Silent Assassin” preferred it that way. Others would take the kudos and l i melight, while he remained the most influential player on the pitch. Only in his absence, such as on the 2001 Lions tour when his injury in the second Test swung the series in Australia’s favour, was his value truly appreciated.
Even now, Hill – a World Cup winner in 2003 – continues to exert a profound influence from the shadows of English rugby. He wears two hats for the Rugby Football Union. The first is as Eddie Jones’s England team manager. The second is as player pathway liaison manager. There is a fair degree of overlap, but it is in the latter role that Hill has helped develop the current bounty of English opensides that have emerged seemingly from nowhere.
Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl and Jack Willis, who makes his debut against Georgia today, have been mentored by Hill. So, too, Maro Itoje and Jamie George. In fact, virtually every player who has come through the English development system in the past 10 years would have been i nfluenced by Hill, according to John Fletcher, who worked closely alongside him as former England Under-18 coach.
“You can’t help but get inspired by Richard Hill,” Fletcher said. “That’s just who he is and because he is always there, at every session in the under- 18 and under- 20 camps. He was a phenomenal player, but people forget about the bad stuff that happened to him with the injuries, and he did not get picked up by any age-grade sides as a young player. What Richard has, that maybe not all great players have, is that sense of empathy. He genuinely cares about people. He was a selfless player and that’s how he behaves as a mentor.”
After retiring because of a debilitating knee injury in 2008, Hill took up mentoring at Saracens as George, Owen Farrell and George Kruis were coming through, closely followed by Itoje and the arrival of the Vunipola brothers. The connections Hill formed with his cohort last to today. He goes fishing with Kruis and closely supported Will Fraser and his family after his brother, Henry, was paralysed in a freak accident.
For second-row Kruis, another late developer who missed out on a lot of age-grade coaching, his perspective was invaluable in his development. “He helped me so much in my career,” Kruis said. “I think a big part of what he offered was that he still thought like a player, whereas coaches go into a coaching mindset. He thinks of things as a player, so he sees things differently to a lot of coaches.
“He knows how to see a bigger picture, but also share some smaller pointers. He knows when to jump in and when to jump out.”
In his role as pathway liaison manager, Hill is responsible for identifying and nurturing the forwards with the greatest potential coming through the English system. Several years ago, the RFU prioritised the development of opensides, which had been a long-term problem position at senior level.
As a result of his enduring friendship with Jonny Wilkinson, Hill is just as qualified to offer advice to flyhalves as he is to forwards, but it is in his conversations with flankers
that “the magic happens”, according to Fletcher. “His insight into that part of the game is unparalleled.”
Before i njuries prematurely ended Will Fraser’s promising career, he was one of those backrows Hill took under his wing. “It
was slightly surreal because he was a hero of mine,” Fraser said. “You forget what he achieved as a player because of his humility and how far he goes out of his way to help you. The amount of detail he brought and he could teach you was unbelievable in micro-skills sessions.”
Even when players leave the English system, Hill remains ns in contact, as he did when Underhill hill pitched up in Wales after departing ng Gloucester. He still gave Underhill feedback on his matches for Bridgend gend Ravens and the Ospreys and kept Jones appraised of his development opment as he came on to Wales’s radar. Jones later recalled: “Hilly Hilly said, ‘ You’ve got to see this bloke play.’ And he was right.”
Jones appointed Hill l as his team manager in n
2016 and he is one of f very few staff members rs to remain in their role ole f our years on. He e is responsible for liaising sing with clubs over player ayer release and “helps run the show” in training camps, according to Kruis. So he can further assist those project players in taking the next step in their career.
“He is in one of the most significant positions within English rugby because he is attached to the f i rst t eam, but is also heavily i nvolved with w t he pathway,” Fletcher said said. “He is the bridge across it and will support the forwards in that transition.
“He will be b incredibly embarrassed by this. th He will say he has nothin nothing to do with anyone’s succ success. The reality is that it is about 95 per cent the player, but unfortupln nately it is very easy to s screw it up. “There are a number of players who had all the gifts but d did not make it b because they needed that extra support, that five per cent, that you get from Hilly.”