Rugby: England legend coaches Spalding

England legend Richard Hill was coaching the Spalding Rugby Club first team last night (February 13).

Hill was there to lead a specialist training session after the club won a national grassroots rugby competition, QBE Hit Squad.

Members of the Spalding first team, who play in the Midlands Division Two East (North) division, trained under the guidance of former England back rower Hill courtesy of QBE, the business insurance specialist.

The club are one of four grassroots rugby clubs across the country to be awarded a QBE Hit Squad coach to mentor them for the business end of the season.

QBE Hit Squad coach Hill worked alongside the Spalding coaches during an exclusive one-on-one training session at the club to focus on developing key skills to help improve the club’s performance in key areas both on and off the pitch.

Spalding will further benefit from Hill’s expertise through his attendance at the club’s final home match of the season on April 12. The club will also have the opportunity to attend an open day with members of the England backroom staff who will be on hand to offer their rugby knowledge, expertise and coaching best practice to further enhance the club’s development.

The prize was awarded to clubs who best demonstrated the benefits of receiving expert guidance from top professional coaches. The judges were particularly impressed with Spalding’s wealth of young talent at the club and feel that with the correct advice and expertise from a QBE Hit Squad coach, Spalding can develop the necessary skills to improve the club’s performance in key areas for the remainder of the season.

Speaking at the session, Hill, former England, Saracens player and 2003 Rugby World Cup winner, said: “We went back to the core basic skills with Spalding to ensure I passed on best practice coaching and technical advice. The session focussed on technique and tactics around the breakdown both in attack in defence to ensure the team retain quality possession of the ball.

“The session has been a great platform for me to give back to the grassroots game and to pass on my knowledge and expertise from both playing and coaching professional rugby.”

Jeremy Chew, chairman of junior rugby at Spalding, said: “It’s fantastic to win the QBE Hit Squad competition. To get the opportunity to learn from Richard Hill is great for the club and utilising his coaching expertise and experiences in rugby will only benefit us as a club.”

The official insurance partner of England Rugby, QBE, is working with the RFU and its coach educators to train 2,015 new level 2 coaches by September 2015 through the QBE Coaching Club.

QBE is committed to supporting the development of rugby at all levels. For more information on QBE’s rugby activity visit www.QBErugby.com

Article source: http://www.fanatix.com/news/new-zealand-v-france-match-preview-and-live-rugby-union-streaming/161870/

Rugby: England legend coaches Spalding