'It was the right package for him at the time'
Exeter have admitted they have no cause for complaint that Jonny Hill hasn’t made it back in time from injury to feature in this year’s Six Nations with England. A starter in all three Autumn Nations Series games, the second row turned up at pre-championship training in Brighton with a high ankle stress issue.
England must have been optimistic that the problem would come right in time for Hill to become available for selection as they decided to keep him rehabbing in camp throughout last month’s three match weeks and the two fallow training weeks.
Assistant coach Richard Cockerill even spoke optimistically last week about Hill, announcing that he came through two full days of training in Bristol. However, Eddie Jones finally cut his losses last Sunday night, omitting the forward from the 36-man squad he asked to assemble for next Saturday’s round four match versus Ireland.
An RFU statement at the time read: “Jonny Hill, who has been undertaking rehab on a low limb stress injury since he arrived into camp, has returned to his club Exeter Chiefs for the remainder of the tournament.”
Club boss Baxter had no issues with England, though, that the rehab on their watch hadn’t come right – but he added that it could be some time yet before Hill makes it back on the pitch to play his first rugby since getting hurt in a January 8 Gallagher Premiership match at Harlequins.
“It is a difficult thing,” said Baxter when asked by RugbyPass for his thought on why Hill rehabbed with England for that long rather than look to get his ankle right at home in Exeter. “If you think there is a possibility of someone becoming involved later in the tournament you do also want them about picking up on calls and any tactical changes that are happening in the meetings etc.
“It is probably as much that as anything else because he was involved in the team in the autumn internationals, they are probably looking for a degree of consistency around the set-piece and how they are running things and probably thought there was a chance of him returning by the end of the tournament.
“That has gone by the wayside now but it’s always a difficult balance, it’s always a difficult one between does a guy stay at his club and rehab and they potentially miss out on that meetings or alignment with the team. I just think it was one of those things. England were very open with us.
“They asked us could he stay in or whether we wanted him to return for his rehab. I spoke with Jonny, he was happy to continue his rehab with England and stay in touch with the things that were happening. I just think it was the right package for him at the time.”
With his hopes dashed of being fit to face Ireland and France in the remaining games, Hill is now back at Exeter looking to put his England frustrations behind him. “We just had a quick catch up to see how the legs are feeling and where he thinks he is heading,” continued Baxter.
“Jonny is pretty positive about it, he is hoping kind of three, four weeks (before he is ready to play) but it will be based on where he feels week by week. It’s not something you can really put a time stamp on and go, ‘this is a two-week, three-week injury’. There is a bit of feel about it, how he feels with landing, loading and running. That will determine a lot on where he is able to go and how much he is able to do.”
Meanwhile, England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie had his operation on Monday to mend the knee injury sustained in the round three win over Wales. “It has gone as well as can be expected,” reported Baxter. “He has got some significant damage there. It is going to be touch and go whether he features again this season.”
Comments on RugbyPass
South Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
2 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
23 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
2 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
23 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to comments