World Cup winner happy to share his knowledge

TWO groups of school children benefited from the words of wisdom of a World Cup winner yesterday. England flanker Richard Hill and his Saracens teammate Kevin Sorrell were in the island to take two one-hour coaching sessions - the first at Les Beaucamps and the second at La Mare de Carteret - before attending a dinner hosted by Cenkos, who brought the two players here.

And as Hill explained beforehand, they were important sessions for the two players also.

'Both of us in August did the preliminary section of the level-two coaching award and we are being able to use this as part of our coaching experience which will go towards the final assessment,' he said.

'We will just be looking at some basic skills to start with and make a judgement on how advanced we can make the sessions.'

Saracens see links to local clubs and schools as one of the key fundamentals for a senior club in the professional era and their players do a lot of community-based work.

The club's charity for young people, the Saracens Foundation, run many projects to promote not just rugby but a healthy way of life.

The players are used as role models to such an end.

When it comes specifically to rugby, Sorrell, a past England A representative who is enjoying his testimonial year at Saracens, believes top players can play a crucial role in bringing on the future generations of stars.

'When at school I was fairly lucky with the level of coaching I received as the teachers had played to a good level so I benefited from their experience. If we can pass what we have learnt from being exposed to a high level on to kids at a young age, it can only benefit them,' he said.

'Sometimes you will be delivering the same message as other coaches, but it can help to come from a different voice.'

Hill emphasised that Sorrell's final point was true for all players.

'Even at our level, it can become a bit stale if you are listening to the same two voices all year round,' he said.

'We have had a change in management at Saracens this season and from a playing side of things, it has gone well and a change of voice can be as important as anything.'

After the 2003 World Cup success, rugby enjoyed a boom in interest from youngsters.

Although England's recent form has been far from outstanding, Hill believes the return of one particular player to the ranks for Saturday's Calcutta Cup match with Scotland could give the sport a nationwide boost.

'Someone like Jonny Wilkinson will have an effect on the game. He is a quality player and if he performs anywhere near how he can do, obviously he is going to have a massive additional input to the team,' he said.

'There is going to be a buzz around now, everyone is going to be more upbeat going into the game and hopefully that will transfer to the team.'

The other England selection to cause a stir has been that of Andy Farrell at inside centre and who better to comment on the form of the former Rugby League star than his midfield partner in club rugby?

'The first thing you notice is how vocal he is and that stems from being a natural leader,' Sorrell said.

'There is the technical side of the game for him to learn, but he still has a rugby brain and decision-making in both codes is very similar.

'He now says those decisions are coming more naturally to him.'

Hill added: 'I have been pleasantly surprised how quickly he has learnt. He is extremely focused on how hard he works.

'You may look at it and say he was injured for the first year of his union career, but people cannot underestimate how much studying he was doing.

'When you are coming into a game you have never played before, you have to pick it up quickly. Some of the questions he was asking might have seemed perhaps dumb to those of us who have been playing this game for years, but he wanted to make sure he knew exactly what was happening.'

Hill, a veteran of 71 Test caps for England as well as three British Lions tours, is not currently involved with the national set up having only just returned to the game from a long-term knee injury.

One of the best players of his generation, it speaks volumes for his ability that when he was injured by Nathan Grey's stray forearm during the second Test of the 2001 Lions tour to Australia, many felt that it was the turning point of a series eventually won by the hosts down under.

If he produces something close to his best form during the rest of the season, he will surely be in contention for more national recognition. For the moment, though, Hill is looking in from the outside.

'Rugby, like all sports, is about confidence,' he said.

'I would like to think the performance against Scotland will be good enough to get a win that will build confidence for the next game.

'There is no expectation of England this time so in a sense they are in no worse a situation than Wales when they went into the Six Nations two years ago and won the Grand Slam.'

As for Saracens, they are set to be challenging for a top-four play-off place at the end of the season as they currently lie fifth in the Guinness Premiership.

'When we started the season, there was no categorical aim to be in the top four. We knew from the season before we needed to build confidence and get some consistency,' Hill said.

'We are in a position at the moment where we have consistently been in fifth or sixth spot this season, but more importantly everyone is enjoying being at Saracens and playing for the club.'

Sorrell added that Alan Gaffney, who is in his first season as director of rugby at Saracens, had been a major influence on this season's improvement.

'Alan has been there, done it and got that experience you need.

'He knows what it takes to win things and how important it is to keep confidence high,' he said.