Well it’s quite possibly the most lucrative schoolboy rugby coaching position in South Africa so you can bet your bottom dollar that the list of applications received by Hilton College for the post of rugby head coach contains numerous familiar names in KwaZulu-Natal local rugby circles and from outside the province as well. Given the potential salary involved there might even be one or two very high profile coaches with professional or maybe even international experience applying for the position.
The school is going through an interview process, they are first interviewing applications internally (teachers) and then if they are not happy they will begin accepting external applications (old boys, professional coaches etc).
It’s believed they begin the interview process this week and hopefully by half-term of Term 4 the new coach will be announced.
It’s hard to say exactly what Hilton are looking for one can assume that a successful coaching career track record, experience at a level above schoolboy rugby, good character and the ability to fit and understand the private school culture are all important. The last point is very important and is bound to eliminate a number of otherwise suitable candidates.
It’s also being said that the feeling amongst the Hilton boys is going for an external professional coach which may also hold a little bit of weight.
It is understandable that after their under-16’s of 2012 struggled, many people expect Hilton to have a difficult time next year, so the new coach is going to have to work extra hard to make an impression in his first season in charge. The team will look to the likes of talented players such as centre Tristan Blewett, lock/loose-forward Jason Gouws, this year’s under -16 scrumhalf and captain Matt Dahl and wing Brad Dickerson who has quite a bit of 1st XV experience now, to help shape their fortunes.
@Grasshopper: yes , i am sure, how “perception” is that they dont have a good record, maybe thats what i should have implied
@Green Hopper: I would give Hilton far more respect than you giving them, they beat Michaelhouse by bigger margins than Glenwood did. Also this year and last the games have tight, 2012 especially winning with a kick in the last minute. I would love a job at Hilton, in fact they hiring a Marketing Director which I may apply for. No rugby job listed though. If you worked there your kids are sure to get discounted fees…
@McCulleys Workshop: maybe , we will see how it goes, i personally think Hilton looks for more that that , Rugby Mercenaries, they have reputation and after the last coach left after huge investment of only 1 year , I would like more roi , than they received
@Green Hopper: I’m not sure you are right, firstly Hilton are rarely a gimme, and are not languishing in the cauldron of anything. Watching the game against GW, the end score certainly did not reflect the game, for most of it I thought Hilton would win. Secondly while I get the issue of the dual role that SE plays with SBR and Club Rugby, I think there are many coaches who would relish the opportunity to be head of rugby at an all boys boarding school, particularly if the salary was anywhere close to the rumored 1 Bar number. I wouldn’t think that the Grey High, Queens, Outeniqua or Oakdale coaches reside in the metropolis of global rugby dominance.
@beet: i think you will find that Hugh Reece Edwards wont be suitable for the Hilton post, Kids at Kearsney etc
I think also that Coaches with affiliations to Club Rugby would think twice about going into the PMB area as they would lose touch with the Club Scheme in Durban, all Rugby seem to have congregated and centralised around Durban over the last few years, the outer areas dying and Club players drawn by Sharks and Kings Park
It will or would take a Brave coach to experiment with a stint out at school boy rugby for three years in obscurity and with what is considered a mediocre side at best, and this is only presently I recognise that fact
Like I said previously , they need to look at going out the box, forget high profile coaches , all they have is ego’s to preserve , I would suggest that a well-balanced coach , that can deal easily with boys , have a strict work ethic and disciplinary code, doesn’t have to be a teacher, but could get the respect of the players, get down to their level, this would be possible with High big hitting Coaches, We saw what happened when SE tried to brink Sharks tactics to GW , it backfired,
I think that over the last 5 years as they lost dominance in the school boy seen they threw money at it and poached players , hoping to prop up a flagging 1st tea set of results , and this has worked, I have seen that a team of players properly coached can be winners, I have been part of a team that played for our coach and produced tremendous results ,
As Grasshoppers has noted , there are a few boys there that are able to bring a flare to the side, its about matching them with other players and bringing the whole skill set up , a Coach that works with the present grade 11 right down to the grade 9’s so that in three years the results will flow
One of the coaches I thought would make a good candidate for this position is Hugh Reece-Edwards. He has a lot of coaching experience from club to international level and he has even enjoyed a successful stint as a SBR coach. Plus I think he could fit in at a private school.
It won’t be easy for an outside to come in especially if he is not a teacher as well.
My feeling is that Hilton need to give consideration to a person who is not only the 1st XV coach but who is also able to train their other coaches. Northwood indicated that a huge benefit of Swys’ short stay with them was his ability to pass on knowledge to other age group coaches.
A number of the coaches close to Durban are involved in club rugby and get to benefit from the experience. At College guys like Strudwick and Smith are fresh out of club rugby, so they have that diversity and at Michaelhouse, at least 3 of their senior rugby men have all been on the Investec course in recent years. It’s not necessarily the key ingredient for SBR success but being able to gain fresh ideas on coaching from must help to in some way to improve or possibly just keep up.
Also talking about Northwood and adding DHS, I thought both might have missed an opportunity by not signing up Mike Vowles who has done good work in SBR but somehow I don’t think Mike is the right guy for the Hilton job.
@McCulleys Workshop: I think it was more like 15 years ago, school rugby has been semi-professional since about 2000. In my day you are right it was just a respected teacher who had probably played for the Duikers or high level club rugby in their youth who was the coach. In my day at Glenwood it was Gerry Goedeke (College Old Boy and now Clifton Head) and Toppy Hortop (Glenwood legend). Even during the post matric era from 1994 to 1998 that is when signs were shown of eagerness to promote the school via great rugby results by bringing in stars from the matric year back. It worked to a degree but cheesed off boys who were pushed down to 2nd’s, it also allowed 19 year olds to play 17 year olds, which was wrong. I still believe Under19’s should not be allowed to play in any team, they are ready for the big league in clubs…..
@Grasshopper: what is absolutely fascinating is this: 5 years ago would we have been as anal about who the 1st team coach was going to be? Whether it was an old boy, an ex provincial player, my guess is no, it was one of the masters who had the respect of the boys and was able to get the maximum out of his squad, and had generally succeeded at other levels of rugby within the school, or at another school. Now the hiring of a coach seems to be an essential part of the weaponry. I seem to remember that we were always there or there abouts, even when playing against Skonks charges, even though we were a school of 450 boys. Not sure any of our coaches were exceptional.
@Buffel: Which school is coming from the depths of Mediocrity?
What about young coaches Mike Vowles (ex Westville) or Kane Mavrodaris (ex Westville Under16 and now St Davids Marist JHB)?
@Grasshopper: i forgot that they were chief thief’s, Gary T no , he is with Adrian in Zambia , think he has actually moved there , old boys wont be the answer , they need to look and be selective , think out the box , be unpredictable in the selection
its like old sharks players coming back as coaches , we have seem how miserable that turned out
@McCulleys Workshop: lol, i agree, also you are wrong , again like most things you blog, i am not a GOB, if P applied I doubt it , he is more wanting the Top Job at GW rather than a career in School Boy Rugby , a few years ago maybe
I have heard it from a good source that the schools to beat next year are going to be College, Glenwood and Michaelhouse.
Going to be very interesting indeed. Westville are going to be right there and am sure Kearsney will make an impact. Then there is DHS,Hilton,Northwood and others .
Kearsney play away from home to College,Hilton,Michaelhouse and Glenwood. A tough ask but the boys will give 120%.
@Grasshopper: I agree as they have an interest in the school but they have their careers that are well advanced. There are other candidates that would fit the roll and can bring the best out of lads .
Home grown talent that have unbelievable rugby brains, no names mentioned. For a school to come from the depths of mediocrity I think one would need at least 3 years to build and then the results should show. Also for the school to entice parents and pupils with the assistance of scholarships and bursaries to this fine institution as the fees are well beyond the laymen in the street.
It is going to be interesting to see who gets the nod and what influence they have in drawing new blood to Hilton.
Bring on 2014.
@Grasshopper: I believe that Hentie ( and another HC old boy ) were already coaching at HC last season helping with the backline and forwards respectively.
@McCulleys Workshop: certainly no Dale Carnegie for me. I agree you can never judge a following years side based on under16 results. There are tons of grade 11s in the opens too. As for SE he would fit into Hilton’s ethos as they are the main poachers within KZN, 4 high profile players in the past few seasons. Gouws will be their star forward in 2014. Maybe they should try and get Gary Teichmann, Wayne Fyvie, Bobby Skinstad or Hentie Maartens…..old boys are always best in my opinion….
@Green Hopper: mmmm you guys (Hopper 1 & 2) must have gone to the same Dale Carnegie class, did they offer Dale Carnegie at G Machine when you were there? Rule No 1, don’t underestimate the opposition regardless of u16 results. Rule No 2, as per Rule No 1. I have heard that Pineiro has applied, that would give HC 2 votes on the CW panel, good going.
i think we will see plenty remarks in this debate over the next few weeks, i think that we can immediately exclude Jake , he has done so well at Brumbies, and being possibly considered and 2nd inline for Wallabies, and a possible good super 15 next year , I don’t think he will
I don’t think Murray Mexted, John Plumtree would consider this , as mentioned the u16 had a bad season and this is a three year , 2 possibly to get decent results
Mexted is too busy with other things and my consider it , Plumtree I think would be an over kill and would get his message down to the boys, so consider this comment as a joke.
As for Sean E , would such a person with such an ego , consider going into a possible losing season, Sean has shown over the last few years his lean towards importing players, and enormous cost , I don’t think the ethos of Hilton revolves around this
So the Coach /Applicant would need to be and understand that he would have huge pressure in the first year, and would start late with preseason, as most schools have already started training for the 2014 season,
So Who could the possible applicant be , and where can one read the advert , would be interesting to see the criteria they have outlined
@McCulleys Workshop: Damn!
Well for Kiwi’s sheep is like our Labola, so if they gave Mexted a bar salary, plus 100 sheep, 50 male and 50 female within about 3 years that number would double. Plenty for his mates to shag and shear if they wish. He could even keep them on the Hilton grounds as a cheap lawnmower service…
@Grasshopper: Have heard that the NZ contingent are concerned about the currency and would like some currency hedging in place, but would consider a discount in school fees for their family as one option, the other option was to be paid a portion in sheep, sort of bartering. You are not going to get rid of SE that easily, but good try.
Hmmmm, this is going to be interesting. Do you think they would consider Rudi Dames or Sean Erasmus if they applied? Don’t see Mexted doing it.
From recollection, when BMH was appointed there was a fairly large degree of opposition from staff, and meetings were called to hear out the concerns of interested parties. The main concern centered on appointing a non staff member as coach and the knock on effect of culture change that the school was embarking on, i.e. embracing the professional era possibly at the expense of the boys. The feeling was that the coach should come from within the school, no doubt the disparity of earnings between BMH and any of the other coaches/staff would have been an issue. The Chairman of the board was at pains to explain that the next best staff member, for any role within the school, sporting or acedemic, was not the obvious choice, but rather the top possible candidate for the job would be found, either from within the school or externally. Based on their player acquisition policy over the last two – three seasons, where they have raided the Green Machine and WBHS u16 ranks, and made a brave attempt on Radebe from Saints, it would seem that JAKE WHITE could be next in line, although I have heard Murray Mexted, Patrick Fitzsean John Plumtree have been approached.