I met Stephen Hoiles in May 2011, when I was invited to spend a weekend with the Brumbies courtesy of one of their corporate partners Deloitte, who work with the Brumbies on innovation and business management.
I had watched him for much longer than that, particularly during the awful season of 2009, when Hoiles, as Brumbies captain, shared with (then) coach Andy Friend the grim job of steering the Brumbies through those blurry weeks following the death of lock Shawn Mackay in Cape Town.
So it was with interest that I observed the injured Hoiles closely when he climbed aboard our bus with prop Dan Palmer, to take us to Canberra Stadium for the Brumbies game against the Stormers.
The Brumbies had recently been given a frightful dressing down by new coach Tony Rea after some lukewarm efforts, and we were all keen to see how they would respond against one of the form teams of the competition.
A polite and accommodating, but clearly frustrated captain, Hoiles stood in the aisle of the bus, politely answering questions about the Brumbies’ chances, their style of play and their likely tactics.
Obviously he would have given anything to be leading the troops into battle rather than entertaining a group of pen-pushers, but he accepted his fate with grace.
Suddenly an interesting question was proffered from the back of the bus. “Do the Brumbies have a team song and could you sing it for us?”.
It was hard to tell whether the request was genuine, or a mischievous attempt to catch the captain out, but Hoiles stepped up to the plate. “Yes, we do have a team song. It goes like this…”
So it was then during a freezing night en route to Canberra Stadium, that a small group of supporters were treated to the captain of one of Australia’s most successful teams, singing the team song, solo and a’capella, from start to finish. And none of the bashful asides or looking at the floor and mumbling that you’d expect from your average footballer.
He sang in a clear baritone of middling quality but full of intent, looking directly into the eyes of the audience as he sang. It was a performance full of pride, which said “You want me to sing? OK, I’ll show you some singing”.
Clearly this was a man who knew how to respond to a challenge.
Disappointing it was then to see Hoiles let go by the Brumbies after a long term injury meant he was unable to fulfill his playing obligations.
Both parties reluctantly came to a deal which saw Hoiles leave Canberra, and he is back at his old stamping ground at Randwick, where I caught up with him for a chat about his future.
Obviously the injury was a good place to start. Says Hoiles “I had it playing at the back end of 2009 and for most of 2010 I managed to get through the season. I ended up getting an operation in June 2010 just to get a bit of bone taken out of the back of the heel which they said was creating a few problems with my tendon.
“I got it taken out and in hindsight I probably rushed back trying to get through a few club semis and trying to get on the end of season Wallaby tour in 2010.
“Around that time when I realised the achilles wasnt going to be up to it, I ended up having to get a back operation for an existing injury and I came back in about November trying to get right for the Brumbies trials for 2011, but my achilles just seemed like it was still niggling at me.
“We thought that with all that time off it was going to be fine, but basically my tendon wasn’t strong enough and I was running on it too often and I ran it into the ground basically. I got through one trial and one game – Round 1 – off the bench in 2011 but it was no good and I knew then and there I was in trouble.
“I got a few too many cortisones in it and it probably took us a long time to work out that it was a tendon, as opposed to other areas in the heel. We thought it might have been a bone issue.”
A tough road then, and one which has meant some serious time off? “Yeah its been a year almost since I’ve played, but I’m miles better this year than I was at the same time last year. I’ve been really sensible about it this time, I was nowhere near ready for it last year and I just thought a few injections and whatnot would get me through.”
“Eventually I realised that the only way to get through this is by being patient and getting a good running program and a good rehab program, and I reckon I’m not too far away. I’m about 80-90% there – I’ve just got a little bit more to go before I’m ready”.
And what if the foot doesn’t come right as quickly as you’d like? “Well, if my foot took until a fair chunk of this year to get right, but it was 100% at the end of it, then I’d be fine to have a crack next year. Its been a really good break, and there’s got to be something good to come out of it and that’s that I have several good years left. When I get back, I just want to play for as long as I can. I know I can be competitive.”
“I’m not concerned about measuring up at all. I’ve been out for a long time, but you don’t forget how to run, or how to tackle. My biggest issue is just going to be the amount of running, because the way I play, I have to get around the park a fair bit.”
As a player who has come in and out of fashion as the laws have changed, weight has sometimes been an issue for Hoiles, but he is relaxed about his current weight.
“I probably got a little bit heavier during the Super Rugby period, I probably got up to about 103 kilos, but I’m about 100 now and I don’t really want to be any heavier. It was even suggested by a couple of coaches that I drop a bit of weight, but I’m a pretty light backrower as it is so I don’t really want to be any lighter.”
“The good thing about being around for a while is that you don’t tend to worry about that stuff as much. Im not obsessed about trying to be heavy. I know what I’ve got to play at and if I get too heavy, and I struggle to get heavy as it is, but if I get too heavy I lose my edge around the park. You take a few years to work that stuff out.”
So where to from here? “Playing for Randwick is the main goal at the moment. Part of my deal with the Brumbies was that I can play for any other franchise this year, but that will have to be through an injury though because the squads are set for this season. If it doesn’t work out here then I’ll look overseas, but I’d rather stay close during the Super 15 and try to pick up a few games with an Australian franchise.”
“France and Japan both appeal – Japan is good because I’m married with a couple of kids, so you’re in a similar time zone and it would be good for the aunties and uncles to come up and visit.”
“From a football perspective, you probably play a few less games there, whereas in France you are expected to play 30-40 games a year. But then again, the lifestyle in France is pretty appealing.”
“Most clubs that we talk to are naturally interested in the injury, you know, saying “Why isn’t he playing?” and it’s hard to prove to people that you’re fit. But I’m confident I’ll play a few games in the next few months and it should be OK from there. I’d like to think that as long as I’m playing footy I can prove that I’m fit.”
There were some whispers about rugby league, but Hoiles laughs. “I was trying to spark a bit of interest with the Wests Tigers, but that fell on deaf ears unfortunately! I’m a tragic Tigers fan! Im a desperate when it comes to rugby league, I’m always trying to throw my two cents worth in where the Tigers are concerned, but I won’t playing league anytime soon unless its with the Coogee Wombats!”
Is it disappointing to have missed some good years, including last year’s World Cup? “Yeah, I certainly get disappointed that I haven’t fulfilled my potential. I don’t have a problem saying that. You’d love to be able to change a few things, and I haven’t had much of a run in the last few years at all. Since the 2007 World Cup, I’ve only been involved in a couple of Test campaigns and played only 1 or 2 Tests since then.”
“That’s my motivation, to go out in the way that I know I can. I would have loved to have had more Test football and less injuries, but to be honest, the start of my career was such a dream run. I’d only been a professional footy player for 11 months and I was on a Wallaby tour. I’d only played about 4 Super games off the bench and by the end of that year I was playing Test footy.”
National coach Robbie Deans has shown that he is always prepared to select players on form, and with veteran Radike Samo holding down the number 8 spot, you must still hope to play some more Test rugby? Hoiles chuckles. “Yeah well, Radike is apparently 35, but I think he was about 32 when he made his Test debut in 2004, so gee, that Fijian birth certificate…I could do with one of those!”
“If we measure by the Samo Scale I’ve probably got another 7 or 8 years at the top level, although perhaps I could use a bit more kava in the diet!”
He’s philosophical though. “Its weird how things happen. Maybe because things happened so quickly in the beginning, that for some strange reason its sort of gone to the other side now and its been a proper battle to get back on top of things.”
“If I’m not careful with it, and if I rush it, then I could undo the good work so far. Its clear that the longer I rest it, the better off I’ll be. But I’m getting in some good training and running and I’m confident I’ll be back soon, whether it’s in the next couple of months, or I get an opportunity later in the year through club rugby”.
So punters, keep an eye out for Stephen Hoiles. When the songs need to be sung, he’s a man who’s not scared to step up.
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