Last coaching season for Mr Stan Hill

Press, 19 April 1979, Page 20

Last coaching season for Mr Stan Hill

By

RAY CAIRNS

The fifth term which Stan Hill, the Canterbury rugby forward coach and convener of selectors, is now entering, will also almost certainly be

his last. Just returned from his second northern winter [coaching rugby in the United States, Mr Hill yesterday [confirmed this would more than likely be the case. “1 have been in the chair for five years now, and it is getting to the stage where the job is consuming so much time. And I don’t think my retiring would cause any problems; we have a few coming up who can step into the job without diffculty.”

“Obviously.” said Mr Hill, “we would like to win the Rugby Cup again in Canterbury’s centennial year, because I can’t see us getting a go at the Ranfurly Shield.” And he thinks Canterbury has a satisfactory draw for the Lion national championship. “It seems better than last year, and I have already had some talks with Gerald Wilson, when he was in California. “It was a bit of bad luck losing Dougie Bruce,” added Mr Hill, “but there must be someone to step into his place.” Time-consuming the Canterbury coaching job may be, but even for the Rollestonbased Mr Hill, it does not involve the travel he undertook in the United States. Though based in San Francisco he conducted Lane, Walker. Rudkin-Air N ew Zealand clinics in various Texas centres; then at the Colusa club in Williams, a

town north of Sacramento; and winding up at Minneapolis. In between times, he was coaching in various parts of California, mainly San Francisco and San Diego. Dave Phillipson, now back in Christchurch and again coaching the Old Boys' senior B club side, was based in San Diego, taking up Mr Hill’s appointment of the previous year. But he had a less smooth path, a car crash costing Phillipson the sight of his left eye, a dislocated hip and knee, and his skull fractured in six places. For all that, he was back coaching in three weeks — but on the crutches he had to use for three months. Both men observed the grave need of American rugby to be coaches. Said Phillipson: “They have great potential, especially at the

university level, under-23 sa\, more so than New Zealanders. But they are very individual, not used to the 15-man game, and the pattern game played by New Zealanders is too much for them.” Phillipson also said the “refereeing standard was shocking, the administration weak with too much infighting, and they are not developing the number of fields.” He is unlikely to return — he is now rugby operations manager for Lane. Walker. Rudkin—but said “someone’ will definitely follow up his work. Mr Hill, however, has been asked to return: "I’ll just have to see”; and if he does, it will be in the hope of noting a further improvement. Club play in California had improved from the previous year, especially in forward play, said Mr Hill, but there was still not the depth. Their New Zealand interests are already demanding the attention of both coaches. Mr Hill said he will be out and around club matches this week; while Phillipson, already back into coaching, has also got himself involved again in surf lifesaving. The New Brighton club captain before his departure overseas, Phillipson said he was looking forward to a challenging season.