'I've gone from Harlequins to Racing to Lyon to Exeter - four incredible top teams - when I could have been stuck at Scarlets playing for Llandovery'
It riles Sam Hidalgo-Clyne when he sees people frown at the sheer number of jerseys he has donned these past two years, a list of clubs so long you could bridge the Seine with it.
The obvious implication is that there is something wrong with the slick little scrum-half. He can’t be good enough. He must be unfit. His attitude is shoddy and no coach wants to keep him around.
But this odyssey of loans, medical joker contracts and short-term deals was a voyage Hidalgo-Clyne embraced. It was a bold quest for game time and fulfilment when his outlook was bleak. It took him to exhilarating places and some of Europe’s premier rugby teams… and his experience is all the richer as a result.
In the summer of 2018, he left his boyhood side Edinburgh for Scarlets where he soon found himself underused and unhappy. He wasn’t in the picture for Scotland’s World Cup squad and even had he been, missing valuable pre-season time would have wrought perverse damage on his prospects of finding a new club.
In short, he could sit and stagnate or get out and play. You shudder at the phone bill Tom Beattie, his agent, must have racked up in piloting moves to Harlequins, Racing 92, Lyon and now Exeter Chiefs where he has finally found a lasting home and a two-year contract with Rob Baxter’s English juggernaut.
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“I hear people saying, ‘Oh, he has had five clubs in 18 months’ but at the same time, it was my decision,” said Hidalgo-Clyne to RugbyPass. “I could have stayed at Scarlets and done the second year of my contract, but why would I if I wasn’t playing and wasn’t enjoying it? I knew I was going to Harlequins short-term, I knew I didn’t have a contract once I finished at Racing. I knew the risks of loans and short-term deals.
“But I have gone from Harlequins to Racing to Lyon to Exeter – four incredible top teams – when I could have been stuck at Scarlets playing club rugby for Llandovery. People don’t take that into consideration. Where would I be if I’d stayed? Would I be better off playing for Llandovery every weekend? Most likely not. It’s not like I have joined bottom six teams. My agent has done really well and I’m glad it has worked out how it has.”
Life in France has been hard, but rewarding. Hidalgo-Clyne’s stint in Paris during the World Cup opened his eyes to lavish riches he had never encountered before. Racing have a new arena of lights and music and mayhem, a cryotherapy chamber and a wine cellar stocked with bottles produced on the vineyards of billionaire president Jacky Lorenzetti on site.
It's been quite a shift of scenery for Sam Hidalgo-Clyne… from Scotland to Wales to England to France and now back to France again all since summer 2018 https://t.co/fCk7wcXv2s
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2019
“Jacky works at Racing’s training ground every day and if you have a couple of losses, he is in the head coach’s office putting pressure on. We lost once at home and drew the next game, and Jacky called for every player to go in and have a one-on-one with him. It was the head coach, him and me in a room, and I had to get Juan Imhoff to come and translate.
“He grilled us. ‘This is the worst start we have ever had to the Top 14. What’s going on? Where do you see the club going?’ If it wasn’t for the head coach being there, Jacky wouldn’t have had a clue. No disrespect to him, but he knows absolutely nothing about rugby – unless he sees you scoring tries, he wouldn’t know if you had a good game or not. We were missing a lot of key players to the World Cup, our average age was very young, but the expectations at Racing are still very high.”
Things aren’t so glitzy at Lyon where Hidalgo-Clyne has spent the past three months and earned more precious minutes, but the club sits proudly in second place in the Top 14. Pierre Mignoni, their truculent coach and ex-France scrum-half, has a voracious thirst for victory and an even more visceral hatred of defeat. As punishment for the beating they took from struggling Brive last Saturday, the squad had their week off ripped away. Instead, they have scrubbed the club gym and are facing a brutal spree of long sessions.
Hell of a win away to Pau. Much needed bonus point to get us right back in the mix. Looking forward to getting back home this weekend and putting in another shift against Agen ?? pic.twitter.com/KmZKmXjsyQ
— Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (@Hidalgoclyne) October 7, 2019
“If you win, it’s awesome. If you lose, it’s like somebody died. If we had beaten Brive we would have had the whole week off. Instead, the boys are in at 7am until late just to put pressure on and p*** them off. That just wouldn’t happen back home.
“The Top 14 is a tougher league than the PRO14. No disrespect, but when you come up against the Kings or Dragons, you are expected to win. Here, Brive are eleventh and came out and comfortably hammered us – anyone can beat anyone.
“As a nine, you have more ownership of the game plan and you’re more of a big boss. There are a lot of mistakes but it’s the ambition of wanting to play. You make a poor off-load, they can be under the sticks and the game is gone. That’s the risk factor, but it makes it so exciting because you pretty much know you can score from anywhere or off one little error.
“Back home, it’s more of a grind and defences are better. So many people fear they will get lost in France, but the lifestyle, the weather, learning a new language, the style of rugby – everything ticks a box for me.”
At Racing, of course, Hidalgo-Clyne joined another Scot blossoming in France. Finn Russell’s messy spat with Gregor Townsend, the apparent strife over the two-beer limit imposed by the much-vaunted squad leadership group and his exile from the Six Nations camp has not dimmed his domestic brilliance.
Mercifully, it appears some fences have been mended between fly-half and coach. “I spoke to Finn about it and ultimately he wasn’t happy with the decision the leadership group made,” said Hidalgo-Clyne. “He is part of the leadership group but he wasn’t consulted about that decision.
“I don’t know if that was forced from the coaches onto the leadership group. He had his own opinions, they clashed and he stood his ground on what he believes. As a rugby player, you want to go wherever you’re happy and he obviously wasn’t. Hopefully, they can sort it out because he is playing awesome rugby for Racing.”
Happiness is a constant driving force in Hidalgo-Clyne’s narrative. It is why he left Scarlets and what he hopes dearly to find at Exeter. He has been living alone in Lyon, with partner Sarah-Jane and two-year-old son Hugo back in Scotland. At last, the three of them have some stability.
He would love to add to his haul of twelve caps, the most recent of which came almost two years ago. But for now, it’s about repaying Baxter’s faith. Chiefs will soon lose their brilliant Australian Nic White and as one of six scrum-halves they were monitoring to replace him, the pressure is on Hidalgo-Clyne to deliver for the Premiership leaders. All being well, he will get started later this month, when his joker deal with Lyon comes to an end.
“Nic White was a massive asset to them but they have got some very good young nines there like Jack Maunder. I’ve got a bit more experience, I’ve got a good kicking game – I’m good at playing the game a little bit like chess, but knowing when to turn it on and have a crack. When you are behind a pack going forward, my attack game can be threatening.
“It’s hard to get consistency when you’re out of a squad or playing 20 minutes off the bench every week. I want to get that No1 spot, enjoy it and see what happens. I’m confident I can add value to the Scotland squad if I can get back in it. I want to become a better player, keep working hard, and see where that takes me.”
By the end of the season, come what may, Hidalgo-Clyne could conceivably finish up with a Top 14 or Premiership winners medal. The club-hopping is over. A circuitous route has ended in a seriously good home.
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Comments on RugbyPass
No Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
18 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to comments