by In 2016, Richard Hill’s role at Rugby Football Union was expanded. He accepted a job as manager of the England team as well as the mentoring work he had started two years earlier with promising players in his age group. Eddie Jones had a simple mission for him: find some open crates.
“I told him we didn’t have any,” Hill recalls dryly. “But a few had been reserved for a few years. Now, that has come to pass.”
Usually understated, and usually accurate. England are currently swimming in potential No.7s. Sam Underhill, Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Jack Willis followed, all appearing at last year’s World Cup. Ben Curry and Tom Pearson are also part of the current squad.
At the weekend in Rome, two other back-rowers made their Test debuts. Steve Borthwick has already revealed how he was tipped off by Ethan Roots during the World Cup, with Hill scouring Premier League Rugby Cup footage. Hill points out fairly well that Borthwick was aware of Roots from the latter’s time at Ospreys. But it’s another indication of Hill’s eye and influence.
Chandler Cunningham-South also came from the bench to the Stadio Olimpico. “I think he played one game for Esher and the London Irish academy was making sure I had some clips of that,” says Hill. “His physicality in behavior was not the norm for an 18-year-old, and I made sure I was involved in England under-20 training sessions.”
In time, Hill received a phone call from John Fisher, who was coaching Cunningham-South with Irish. A rather confused Cunningham-South told Fisher about finding a mysterious but insightful figure at the England under-20 camps. “It’s like Chandler was saying: ‘He’s got some decent ideas, you know? He seems to know what he’s talking about.’ Yeah, that was me,” says Hill.
It would be two years after their first conversation when Cunningham-South finally found out that Hill was a World Cup-winning hero in 2003. “He wanted to know why I hadn’t told him,” Hill recalls. . “I said it had no impact on what we were trying to achieve, which was for him, not for me.”
For Cunningham-South, he was just eight months old when Martin Johnson lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in Sydney. Hill is also known for his humility. These days, with his increased prominence again under Borthwick, he watches every Premier League game and any age-appropriate action. On Friday, for example, the 50-year-old will be at Bath to watch England under-20s, and Henry Pollock, host Wales, in an exciting opener.
When dealing with any player, he makes sure his messages are aligned with those of the coaches, from that person’s club, England Under-20s or within the Borthwick set-up, to reduce confusion: “I wouldn’t I dream of going through their messages. games and making a profound statement about how they defended or attacked without cross-checking.”
‘If the players don’t improve the game will move on’
Hill believes the England team has a responsibility to “make sure it’s not a closed shop” for aspiring international players who are withdrawing in the Premier League. As for specific jobs that need more attention, as they did eight years ago, he highlights the RFU’s five campuses as a progressive initiative.
And then there is the middle of the field. In theory, could Hill suggest moving inside the cage to inside center? Apart from the cooperation of the clubs, another aspect is the high rate of attrition associated with playing in the back row. England coaches often have to scale back their depth chart due to injuries. Hill and others are always thinking about site conversions anyway.
“I can’t say I haven’t talked about a certain player who is a full-back who I have said is a centre-back… but I was about 99 per person,” he said. “We go with it and keep moving.
“Those conversations happen all the time. If you look at the forward line, most of them were in the back row until they were 16 to 18 years old.”
As ever, chaos at the back will be vital as Wales come to town. Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright were both excellent against Scotland, despite the eventual defeat to Warren Gatland’s men, and they will need to restrict England in different ways.
Test matches can be wild affairs where momentum swings significantly. Careers also ebb and flow, and that’s the reasoning behind what Hill cites as the most important quality in a promising player.
“They always have the mindset that you need them to want to improve,” he says. “Personal experience would say that you are gone from the moment you think you are the finished article. Unfortunately, the game moves on. People are always looking for ways to beat the system.
“It’s not uncommon for a player to look great for a few games and then the opposition say: ‘I like the way he looks. We must nullify it. Then it’s about the skills of that player and how they reinvent themselves. Look at Richie McCaw, jeez. Everyone said they knew how he played. You’d think it would be easy to close, wouldn’t you?
“There were periods when it was quieter. Then he would find another way to do something. We put that challenge before every player that comes through the system.”
