Hinckley have the foundation to go far – Chuter

FORMER England hooker George Chuter says he has no top-flight coaching ambitions despite guiding unfancied Hinckley to the top of National Two North.

Chuter, 41, took on the director of rugby role at Leicester Road last summer after previous good work at Loughborough Students and is confident Hinckley could survive at a higher level.

However, the ex-Saracens and Leicester Tiger told TRP: “I’m enjoying being director of rugby and having more responsibility for contracts, payroll and recruitment, but a full-time job in the Championship or Premiership is not really for me.

“This is a challenging enough job at Hinckley, but it’s part-time and it still gives me the opportunity to continue doing my corporate work at Leicester. It’s a lot more cut-throat higher up and it’s all about winning rather than the enjoyment of rugby.

“Having said that, I think Hinckley could go a bit higher and there’s a good foundation been built here in terms of players and infrastructure. It would be lovely to be in the promotion mix come the end of the season.”

Chuter believes Hinckley are reaping the benefits of the work done by previous rugby director Paul Walsh, who left for France last May after 10 years at the club.

“A lot of credit must go to Paul for the work he did here,” Chuter said.

“We’ve got a good group of coaches in Scott Hamilton, Emyr Lewis and Phil Llewellyn that Paul put in place, and after winning promotion in 2016 and finishing ninth last season, the players know what to expect in this league now.

“We’re competing well against sides like Otley, Wharfedale, Sedgley Park, Blaydon and Tynedale who’ve been at a higher level, which is brilliant.”

Chuter added: “There’s still half the season to go but the club is ambitious and we’d love to have a crack at getting to National One. The important thing, though, is that Hinckley remains a proper community rugby club, first and foremost.”