FORMER Bath and England scrum-half Richard Hill must be in the running for the most upwardly mobile rugby coach award.
Another season over, another promotion achieved, Hill is a man who loves a trophy in his hand every bit as much as a glass of red with Club Athlétique Périgueux the latest club to move up a league on his watch.
To everyone bar the club president, Hill was the toast of the otherwise sleepy town after a gruelling 27-match campaign in Nationale 2 ended with a 39-20 victory over CS Vienne Rugby in the playoff final.
A couple of days later, Hill and his team were subjects of a Mayoral address in front of hordes of supporters who’d gathered in the square of the 12th century Santiago de Compostela cathedral. His eighth promotion, on both sides of the channel, was a little different to the circumstances around his first.
Having drawn a blank at the start of his career at Harlequins, Gloucester and Newport, Hill and his assistant Martin Haag got Bristol back up from the old National One division and into the Premiership two years into their three-year plan. Promotion was confirmed the night before their final trip of the season, to Otley.
“We’d had a big argument with the Otley people,” he recalls. Bristol had brought up a huge amount of support, which obviously helped the coffers of Otley but they wouldn’t let the non-playing members of the squad in without paying, which they weren’t very happy about so I paid for them myself.”
Back in those days, there was next to no TV coverage, no shiny silverware, just the wooden shield that was given to all league winners below the Premiership to hold aloft. Hill argues not much has changed at that level of English rugby, and at least then promotion was all-but-guaranteed for the winners.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 25, 2023 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 25, 2023 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
England can find a little bit of cheer
SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.
Stop messing with Marcus - Campese
DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.
Being a Lion was the highlight of my career
I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.
Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half
THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.
Forwards pack a punch for the Reds
OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.
Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley
SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.
Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon
FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.
It's a whole new ball game for Rigg
WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.
Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.
Becconsall: We need to release pressure
WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.
