By Tim Hodges
Hove RFC welcomed back their most famous son on Sunday, when current Harlequins centre and England international Jordan Turner-Hall visited the academy teams at Hove Rec.
Turner-Hall, who played for Hove as a 13-year-old, spoke exclusively to Brighton and Hove News about his time at the club.
The ex-Brighton College pupil recalled his time at Hove fondly and was pleased to see how well the new academy , with its family based values, was progressing. Commenting it was always nice to see a lack of parking spaces around the Rec on training and match days.
Turner-Hall was coached at the club by Mike Attfield who still coaches at the club today.
The player enjoys being involved in the club and hopes to be able to help out in the future and feels it is important to maintain links with the grass root level of the game.
He is also a former Patcham High School pupil and suggested he would very much like to be involved with school in some capacity as well.
Mike Attfield recalled he had only just come out of retirement as a coach when he came into the orbit of Jordan Turner-Hall.
Attifeld immedialty saw his potential and mentioned what a great privilege it was to coach him, going on to say how proud he was to see the player turn out for England.
He added that achievements like that made all the cold winters on the touchline so very worthwhile.
Jay Holt, Hove’s club coach co-ordinator, is responsible for developing the coaches at the club.
Holt a former Hove player, looks after teams from Under 6s through to the Under 18s colts team.
Hove currently have an affiliation with Turner-Hall’s team Harlequins.
On occasions, Hove youngsters get to travel up to the Stoop on match days and play exhibition matches at half time.
The aim at Hove is to get as many young boys and girls involved as possible, concentrating on core values such as respect for each other and officials and of course hard work and dedication. These have shown the club a degree of recent success.
In recent months the club has had a change in organisation, forming a rugby academy, encouraging all standards and ages to embrace the rugby family.
The club have an apprentice who visits local schools, although all the coaching staff work voluntary.
The club is fortunate to have links with the RFU through the first team coach and the director of rugby, who both work for the RFU, developing rugby in the community.
The club appears very well set up and geared towards future success in both a team and individual basis.
Hove are a family club, who attract players of all standards and all ages.
Thanks to Under 9s manager Tarron Hemsley .
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