Canberra Super Rugby franchise the Brumbies have announced that former Rebels coach Damien Hill will be their new General Manager Professional Rugby and Pathways.
The role will see Hill, who originally worked with the club eighteen years ago as a Brumbies Development Officer and was Head Coach at the Melbourne Rebels, facilitate a High Performance Environment to ensure the team reaches its full potential and, in conjunction with the Executive management, ensure integration across the organisation.
“It’s exciting to work again with the Brumbies which has such a successful history,” Hill commented.
“It’s a new position at the Brumbies, so an opportunity to develop the role from the ground up.
“The Brumbies reputation was a strong factor in my decision to apply for the job and this was a chance to come back to where I first started my rugby career.
“It is an opportunity to step away from coaching for a while but still contribute to high performance outcomes, and a great chance to put into place what I’ve learnt as a coach over the past 15 or so years into a more strategic role off the field as well as developing another set of skills.
“My main role will be working with the coaching staff to build a strong player list for the next few years and to expand the current systems that are in place with regards to the pathway for future school and club players to become Brumbies and Wallabies.”
After his stint as a Development Officer, Hill was Manager of Coaching and Development at the Brumbies for four years before moving onto coaching with Suntory in Japan.
After a stint in Japan, Hill held the role of Director of Rugby and Head Coach at Sydney University for four years, then worked for the Rebels as an Assistant Coach and then Head Coach.
Latterly Hill was with Ricoh rugby team in Tokyo as their Head Coach for the last three seasons.
“We are very excited Damien is coming back to the Brumbies in this new strategic role,” CEO Michael Thomson said.
“He brings lots of experience to the organisation and I have no doubt that he will prove to be a very valuable asset to the club.
“The Brumbies are continuously looking forward and how we plan and prepare for that is of paramount importance. Damien’s appointment is made with a view to the future.”
Brumbies Head Coach Stephen Larkham welcomed the addition of Hill to the club’s management team.
“Damien brings a wealth of experience and I am looking forward to working with him in planning the future of the club,” Larkham said.
“The appointment of Damien is another step forward in the continuous improvement of the Brumbies in initiating the organisation’s best practice program and shows the progressive nature of the club.”
Damien Hill will begin his role with the Brumbies from mid-March.
