Hertfordshire's head coach Paul Turner on the rise of the game's profile in the county
After taking his side to Twickenham last year for their first visit to the
County Championship final, Hertfordshire’s head coach Paul Turner looked forward to this year’s campaign, and spoke about the rise of the rugby scene in the county. “I have lived in Hertfordshire for 14 years, and having done the Newport Gwent Dragons job for nearly six of those, I had always kept in touch with local clubs. “When I came to St Albans, it wasn’t a rugby town, but they sold their old ground and moved to a new development, and things seemed to have taken off from there. It is a sporting development, and of course, Saracens use it now for their training base. “It was very much a city full of Arsenal and Tottenham supporters, now it has become more rugbyfied, if that’s a word! |
“I noticed that since I came here in 1998 that rugby here has gone from strength to strength, and it has had a big influence in Hertfordshire. The game was always pretty much of a minnow, but through the success of Old Albanians, and the likes of Bishops Stortford, Hertford and Tring, who have all had their fair share of success, then all in all it has added to the momentum in Hertfordshire rugby.
“I used to talk in Wales about Old Albanians, and people used to think of it as an old boys rugby club. But they are in the forefront – they are now the highest placed old boys club in the leagues now.
“I think we added to that last year. In relative terms we were the new kids on the block really, and were the surprise package.
“We had some very good players last year, and with a very good win in Cornwall, which was a great weekend. We had never won in Cornwall, it had taken 75 years to do that. We then won at away at Kent, and with two away wins, our home game against Gloucestershire was ‘winner takes all’. It was probably the best performance the county have had.
“In the final we came up against a very experienced and quite a big Lancashire side. I know Nelly (Lancashire head coach Mark Nelson) very well, because I worked with him while I was at Sale, and we met a county that had quite a big focus on county rugby. Ever since my days at Sale, the county scene was always big and fair play to them, they have continued that.
“It was a little bit too much for us in the final, had we taken our chances at the right time then it could have been a lot closer.
“If I’m honest, just before half-time we had a chance, and we didn’t go in leading at the break. The game went away from us, and they were too big and physical in the first 20 minutes after half-time, and they led something like 28-6. The game went away from us there, we came back near the end but we lost a couple of key players around the half-time period as well.
“All in all, it was a great campaign for us, it opened a few eyes, and it has put us in good stead for this season. We have got a few changes, but the structures and the
squad is about the same as last year.
In his efforts to remind us that rugby us on the rise in the county: “Yes, the Saracens club are doing well, and while Hertford have had a relatively poor season, but with Bishops Stortford and Tring both doing quite well in their leagues, we have a group of players who want to play for the county,” he said.
“It is a pleasure to be with the players, and everything it did for me last season, it reminded me of how rugby used to be. We had had a really good weekend in Cornwall, the players liked putting the jersey on, to represent the county, and they played for the coaches.”
Talking about coaches, his right hand man has just taken the Old Albanians up to National League One after a title-winning season at the Woollam’s Playing Fields.
“I have got a really good lieutenant in James Shanahan, I think he is a top coach, and he is still playing. He is doing really, really well. I think his main challenge once he retires is getting teams to play how he plays. He is certainly right up there with the better coaches that I have come across.
“What we are trying to do is what Lancashire do – they treat the competition seriously. They look after the players behind the scenes. This is early days for Hertfordshire rugby, we are trying to grow on and off the field. I think that is the only way we can work. Rather than think ‘Oh, it is just another competition’, when I was up north, it was always Yorkshire/Lancashire, and I actually played for Cheshire one year in the County Championship. I know Cheshire these days are doing really well.
“Hertfordshire have always been a minnow, but now we are trying to put Hertfordshire firmly on the map. One season doesn’t do that, you have got to really be consistent, and do it season after season.”