Neville to reunite with old coach
HONG Kong international Jack Neville is looking forward to reuniting with his former coach Craig Hammond after signing for Nottingham.
Archers DoR Hammond spent time in Hong Kong coaching the national team’s forwards coach and also played against Neville’s Kowloon for Hong Kong Scottish.
Neville, who plays 10 or 15, said: “Craig was there
over seven years, so we knew each other well and we’ve always had a good relationship. My agent reestablished the connection and I became excited about the prospect.”
England-born Neville, 30, received residency status to play for Hong Kong in 2017 and made his debut against Russia. He has scored 22 points in 12 caps but has now turned his attention to playing back in England and is excited to test himself in the Championship.
He said: “I’ve played the majority of my rugby in Hong Kong and more recently Spain and have always had the intent to play in an established league. Hong Kong and Spain aren’t rugby nations, so I’ve always wanted to play in England. With my age, now is the time to test myself in a strong league.
“The Championship has that aura of being a tough slog and there’s a lot of young players who were aspiring to get into the Premiership. I’ve heard there’s high competition with maybe not the best weather or grounds, but part of the excitement is seeing how I fare.”
Nottingham finished 10th last season, but Neville is hopeful the club can rebuild to the midtable side they were before the Covid outbreak.
He said: “Nottingham were affected by Covid like all teams were and I think financially they’re almost starting again a bit. They are looking to get back to where they were, which was a professional outfit. During Covid they went semi-pro so now it’s a rebuild and hopefully, we can get in the top half of the table this season.”
Nottingham have also signed scrum-half Liam Slatem and Michael Green after spells in Hong Kong and have also recruited Kiwi lineout specialist Iosefa Maloney-Fiaola. Archers scrum-half Matt Marsh has joined Moseley.