A star on the field who commanded the attention of the camera whenever he touched the ball, Stephen Hoiles is trading in his famous white headgear and opting for a suit and tie as he prepares for his new role ahead of the 2015 Buildcorp NRC.
Having recently announced his retirement from the professional game, Steve is starting the next chapter of his life and making the transition from professional rugby in to the real world.
Following a similar path to former teammate and close friend Adam Freier, who is now Head of Digital & Media at the ARU, Steve recently took on the newly formed role of Assistant Project Manager of the NRC.
Armed with an understanding of the game better than most and a relationship with the players that stems from one of their own, the position is a natural progression for the veteran Loose Forward.
“It’s a part time job which is aimed at building contacts and relationships with the NRC clubs and essentially designing an impartial and simpler system for the player allocations in 2016,” Steve explained.
“Obviously with the Waratahs having four feeder teams in Sydney it means the player depth is a bit thinner than say Melbourne, Perth and Canberra.
“The Reds are efficient in that they can run the two Queensland teams out of Ballymore and use the facilities up there. Essentially we’re just trying to create an easier pathway and process to manage and facilitate the NRC moving forward in 2016.”
A long-time supporter of grassroots development and club rugby in Australia, Steve believes the NRC compliments the longstanding current competition structures and is essential to preparing, strengthening and developing young players in to readymade Super Rugby professionals.
“We have five super Rugby teams now and that’s certainly stretching our talent pool. We’re starting to see a lot more foreigners playing in Australia, take Perth and Melbourne for example.
“The NRC gives players an opportunity to spend time in a semi-professional environment alongside Super Rugby players. It gives them a sneak peek in to the world of a professional athlete and what it’d be like to step into a full time role.
“On average there is about 8-10 extra minutes of play time because of the law variations, there is plenty of tries and it’s a great brand of rugby to watch.
“We’ve had a year now to prepare for the second instalment of the NRC, the inaugural competition was thrown together in a matter of months and I think the added preparation will see the standard rise again.”
After making a living playing the game for over a decade, Steve admits he’d given a bit of thought to life after rugby and what that might involve.
In addition to starting a small business venture flying drones alongside co-pilot and Waratahs teammate Mitch Chapman, Steve will also be involved in a new TV program on Fox Sports discussing and focussing on all things NRC.
“I’ve always wanted get involved in the media and the administration side of the game and it’s been interesting to observe how different parts of the office work together.
“I had about two years out of the game with a recurring injury so I got a small taste of the office life then, but I’m still learning each day and everyone is making me feel very welcome.”
Getting in touch with his inner concrete cowboy following a season with the NSW Country Eagles last year, Steve is looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the action from afar this time around.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play rugby professionally for a long time now, so I’m excited to be able to give back to the game that has given me so much.”
The 2015 competition officially kicks off tonight when champions Brisbane City host the Perth Spirit in a rematch of last year’s decider.
In a further boost to the competition, Fox Sports recently announced that it would provide live coverage of every single Buildcorp NRC game this year. You can catch tonight’s game on Fox Sports Channel 502 from 7.30pm EST.
