'Most of the time you are scared witless': Quins' Rob Hunter taken to the extreme

Harlequins found themselves in choppy waters last season but it was nothing compared to what new forwards coach, Rob Hunter, endured in the months before he joined the club from Exeter.

Having been at the Chiefs since 2013, Hunter was looking for a new challenge, one that would throw him out of his comfort zone, and the Clipper Round the World Boat Race did the job.

With only a month to prepare, the first-time sailor signed up for the daunting North Pacific leg, a 5,000-mile nautical journey from Asia to Seattle on the West Coast of the United States, where waves the height of the Twickenham Stoop goalposts were not uncommon.

“Terrifying and beautiful is probably the best way to describe the state of sea. Most of the time you are scared witless; it’s an incredibly challenging environment; it’s 30 days and it’s pretty relentless,” said the 2020 double winner.

“You are tethered to the deck, it is at 45 degrees all the time, pretty much, and it was hard to move around. I got knocked over a few times. The first couple of times it happens is quite a scary experience.”

Fighting the boat, nature and his own body – it took two days of constant sickness before he found his sea legs – Hunter’s passion for working as part of team, and the understanding the value in having each other’s back, was rekindled in the most demanding of circumstances.

“I love being in teams, I’ve always loved being in teams, and being with such a mix of different people; there were eight different nationalities in our crew of 12, men and women of all ages and from all backgrounds.

“I think people might think I can be quite grumpy and enjoy my own company, but I do enjoy being part of a team and I have been very lucky to have been a part of some great ones.”

Doing six-hour shifts, twice a day, there was very little time for self reflection. But in the vast and desolute expanse of the ocean, Hunter learnt one thing about himself – that he could still hack it physically and mentally.

The former London Scottish, London Irish and Northampton lock, who played representative rugby for Scotland A, the Army and the Combined Services, says the experience gave him a new lease of life.

“It’s a long time since I played. I used to do a lot of mountaineering and I was a soldier (for seven years in the Royal Engineers) so I had a fairly active lifestyle. But after you’ve been coaching for years and years, you forget what it’s like to have to get up and get after something.

“It reminded me how much I love a challenge and competition. It was refreshing to find that flame still burning brightly.”

Hunter set sail in March, just after his appointment at Harlequins had been announced. He arrives at the Twickenham Stoop as part of a summer overhaul of the coaching staff, which is being led by Jason Gilmore and Robbie Deans.

Other ‘newcomers’ include former Quins player Jordan Turner-Hall (defence/transition), Sean Long (skills/contact), who is back for a second spell at the club, and Kiwi Brad Cooper (attack).

“Robbie and Gilly have done a really great job in how we have come together, how we have integrated as a group, it was really well planned. It has been really really clear from day one, the messages in the staff group and towards the lads, which is made it easy for them to get on with things and work hard,” said Hunter.

“I am very much enjoying being up here. Quins didn’t feel like an obvious choice in some respects, but they are one of the oldest clubs in the world and I am just looking forward to getting out in front of the Stoop and putting in some work that people will be proud of.”

Only Newcastle finished below Harlequins last season, and the lineout is one area where they were found wanting.

“In the game over the last few years people have lost sight of the basics for whatever reason. There is a lot chat about styles and brands but the basics of the game are the basics of the game,” said Hunter.

“When you look at the two Quins teams who won the Premiership in the past, both were great running sides built on a foundation of great set piece and great forward play. A big focus of ours is to put those basics back into the heart of what we do.”

As with all good modern-day coaches, Hunter and his colleagues will empower the players to problem solve on the pitch. It’s another facet of the game that he can relate to his Round the World experience.

“We had a number of issues with electrics, and you are just trying to fix things on the go,” he explained.

“At one point we had no lights on the helm so we just navigated towards the North Star for a couple of hours without anything else to guide us, completely under sail, which was a super cool thing to do.”

A Nortumbrian by birth, Hunter’s guiding principle over nearly a quarter of a century of coaching has been hard work, respect and authenticity, with an excellent track record in bringing youngsters through.

For Harlequins to climb the league ladder, those academy products will have to make a meaningful contribution, especially with pack leader, club captain and talisman Alex Dombrandt out of action for the foreseeable future due to the ACL injury he picked up on England A duty.

As one of the more senior players, there will also be a big onus on England’s Chandler Cunningham-South to deliver week in, week out. Having played as a hybrid loose forward, Hunter says Cunningham-South will primarily be used in the back row.

“I think the injury count was very high last year and that meant quite a few guys had to play out of position, forwards and backs, as is often the case. It won’t have done any harm in his development but he is certainly  someone we look at as an out-an-out back row.

“We’ve got some great young players coming through in the row. I’ll be expecting a huge amount from them and I have every confidence they will deliver.”

A Nortumbrian by birth, Hunter is reacquainting himself with south-west London, having spent a few years there during his spell as a player at London Scottish in the early days of professionalism.

“Most of the squad weren’t born when I was playing there,” he joked.

“It’s long been the case of coaching people who’s parents I played with – I didn’t realise it until the other day but I actually played with Cadan Murley’s dad in the Army.

“It has been nice bumping into some old faces, a lot of players that I used to coach in the 20s, who are retired now. But I am a bit worried I am going to start coaching people whose parents I actually coached!”