(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Paul Hull, the former England international and Premiership Rugby Head Coach has been announced as Tony Spreadbury’s replacement at the RFU from next summer.
Hull was capped four times for England during the 1990s and was a one-club-man appearing in 289 first team games for Bristol before retiring in 1999. He went onto become Bristol’s Head Coach and also had a spell as Assistant Coach for England Saxons. For the past seven years he has been a Citing Officer within the disciplinary team, while working in the education sector.
He has been Director of Rugby and Housemaster at Prior Park College, Bath, for more than seven years, and will formally take up his new RFU role at the end of the academic year.
“We are delighted that Paul will be joining us. Tony Spreadbury left us in an incredibly strong position with a world class panel of professional referees; the challenge for us is to build on that and make them better,” said Conor O’Shea, RFU Director of Performance Rugby.
“We have worked hard with PRL, Tony and others, including Wayne Barnes, to identify the person we believe will move us forward and, in Paul, we feel we have a person steeped in the game, who will understand officiating from a coaching perspective and will challenge the officials in a different way.”
Speaking about his appointment Paul Hull said, “Although I’ve been away from the professional game for a time, my involvement and passion for rugby has continued in my role as Housemaster and Director of Rugby at Prior Park College: a role I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and the decision to leave was tough.
“Through my work as a Citing Officer, I’ve got to know many of the match officials and as discussions about the role took place it became clear it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.
“I am extremely excited to be taking on this new position. I will be joining a talented group of match officials, who are amongst the best in the world. I am very much looking forward to joining them in the summer to see how far these accomplished officials can go as a group and individually.”
Has Paul Hull ever been a referee ? To have appointed him to this role seems odd, as if he has never ‘blown the whistle’, how can he ever have any empathy with people who do ?
I dont see it as a prerequesite to have refereed to be in this role. It’s more about recognising the skills and capabilities in the Premiership referee group, appointing and developing accordingly and deal with the stakeholders around the game. Paul is pretty much ideal for that. But we’ll see!