Hill keeps faith with promotion battlers
RICHMOND rugby director Steve Hill reckons his side will surprise a few people after bolstering his squad ahead of the new Championship campaign.
Hill is staying faithful to the majority of the side that won promotion from National One but has added experience in the form of ex-Gloucester prop Rupert Harden, Canadian Test lock Tyler Hotson and ex-London Scottish scrum-half Matt Heeks.
Former London Welsh skipper Matt Corker is also now on board, along with ex-Gloucester academy prop Will Goodrick-Clarke, while last season’s leading points scorer in National One, flyhalf Fred Gabbitass, joins Richmond from Blackheath.
Hill told The Rugby Paper: “We needed more depth and in guys like Matt Corker, Tyler, Rupert and Matt Heeks we’ve got experienced people who’ve played at a high level.
“We’ve also got a couple of guys from Harlequins in Henry Cheesman and Stan South, who was part of the England U20s side that won the World Cup, so we think we’ve recruited smartly and I’m very excited going into the new season.
“We only lost a couple of players over the summer and if the Richmond lads from last season’s campaign put the hard work in and are playing well, we still want to give them an opportunity in the Championship, but you need greater depth.”
Richmond remain strictly part-time, but last season’s squad have agreed to additional training sessions, while Hill has strengthened his backroom staff.
Hill explained: “They’re committed to three gym sessions and two full training sessions as well, which is a significant increase for guys with jobs. We’re giving them more support in terms of training and we’ve also taken on a nutritionist to aid them in their recovery and diet during the week.”
Richmond are heavy favourites to go straight back down but Hill insists there is no sense of nervousness about the stiff challenge ahead.
Sky are due to televise their home match against Ealing on Sunday October 9 and Hill, right, said: “It’s uncharted territory for a lot of our guys but we’re putting no pressure on them, we just want them to express themselves. “The fact that Richmond now have London Irish, London Welsh and London Scottish in the league is exciting and it’s ironic that our first away game is at the Madejski Stadium, where we played in 1998-99 when Ben Clarke was the captain. “That will bring back some pretty strong memories for people involved and we’ve been handed a tough start with Jersey, Irish and Doncaster, so by the end of September we’ll have a good idea what the Championship is like.”
Hill added: “It’s always nice to be the underdog and we will be in all 22 matches, but I’m convinced the guys have got it in them to surprise people.
“What we have is a squad of very bright, intelligent players and I think they’re going to learn very quickly. As the season progresses we’ll get better.”