Jo Hull considers herself a coach first and a female second as the field general for the premier men’s team at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
“From my point of view I’m just a coach and they’re just players. It doesn’t matter whether they’re male or I’m female, we’re here to do a job,” Hull told the Gazette at Thursday’s training session at the Wild Rose Elementary School field. “The guys, to be honest with you, I don’t think they care whether I’m male or female, they just want to be coached and have a leader that is committed and pretty determined to have a successful season.”
Hull stressed her unique status as SARFC’s first female coach in men’s rugby is a non-issue.
“It’s something we discussed and we don’t need to discuss it anymore as a team because we’re very comfortable with the setup we’ve got. We’ve got a good understanding in terms of what my role is and what their role is,” said the former head coach of Scotland’s national women’s team. “I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the team so far in terms of their attitude and commitment and respect towards me as a coach.”
This is Hull’s first crack at coaching a high level men’s rugby team.
“I’ve worked with a lot of guys in the past in terms of academies at the younger level but this is first time I’ve worked with a men's senior team for a season. It’s been a challenge but one that’s been refreshing to be honest with you with my coaching in terms of their approach to the game. They’re a lot more direct and they’re a very, very focused group of individuals,” said the former player and coach for the Darlington Mowden Park Sharks premiership women’s team in England for more than 10 years. “I’m transferring my knowledge and skills from that into this. It’s the same game. It’s played the same way. It’s just played by men as opposed to women.”
Hull, 33, was hired to restore greatness to St. Albert’s first 15 after their most woeful season – eight losses in 14 matches – since 2006.
“It was a real opportunity to develop my coaching, as well as to work with the team that I believe in and is committed. It’s got great potential this year,” said the backs coach for the 2012 Alberta Pandas, the Canada West champions and Canadian Interuniversity Sport bronze medalists. “It’s a good solid club with a great club atmosphere, all the way down to juniors and up to senior. From first team members to the second team, third team and U19s we have a real squad atmosphere.”
Losing is not an option this year after the first 15 failed to reach the provincial final after five straight trips to the big game. In 2007 the firsts regrouped in the second division to win the provincial title and the next year returned to the Alberta Cup ranks and competed in four straight provincial matches, highlighted by the first Labatt's Cup championship in SARFC history in 2010. During a four-year stretch the firsts lost only 10 matches out of 61 while dominating the premier pitch.
“There is a little bit of pressure this year and I think that is a good thing. We feel quite privileged to be under pressure. We thrive on that. We’re a competitive team and we’re putting pressure on ourselves to do that,” said Hull, who coached the Rockers in the Edmonton Rugby Union’s female division in 2012 after working six years in Scotland as the Women’s International Performance Manager.
The Rugby Alberta Junior Academy Coach last season will oversee the men’s program in addition to coaching the firsts. SARFC veterans Simon Hill and Eric Wynychuk will handle the seconds and thirds, respectively, this year in the ERU.
“We want to play a positive game of rugby this year,” Hull said. “We’re trying to play a faster game of rugby and make it a little more entertaining for people to see. We want to keep the ball alive as much as possible. We’re also going to score points. That’s our key focus: we want to score tries.”
The league fixtures kick off next Saturday for the firsts against the notorious Clansmen at 4 p.m. at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
“It will be the first time these guys have played together under my coaching. We’ve been putting the preparation in twice a week now since January so we’re feeling pretty confident in the team that we’ve got and we’re ready for the 11th of May,” Hull said. “The guys have been working really hard and I’m really impressed with their commitment and their intensity at training. They’ve really shown their intent this year and we’re pretty focused what our goal is. This season for us is about building every game and improving every time we step out onto the field. We want to win every game we play and we’ve got a key focus on the provincial finals but we’re also aware that we have to do one job at a time.”
Beating the Clan would be a step in the right direction. The fourth loss in five tilts last year against SARFC’s bitter rivals was a brutal 61-15 performance by the firsts in the Ken Ann Cup playoff to determine the ERU rep at provincials.
“The Clan is always a big game, but it doesn’t matter who we play because we have our own focus and our own predetermined way we want to play. Our aim is to go out there and just play our style for St. Albert,” said Hull, a Newcastle upon Tyne resident who made her ERU playing debut with the Pirates as a university exchange student.
SCRUM BALLS: SARFC women’s team, coached by Ian Ferguson, and the thirds will also scrum down next Saturday at Ellerslie. The women play the Lep/Tigers and the thirds tackle the Pirates. Kickoff times are 2:15 p.m.
The seconds make their season debut May 16 versus the Lep/Tigers at 7 p.m. at Ellerslie.
