It’s a Saturday evening in the south side of Dublin, and European rugby champions Leinster are facing Newport Gwent Dragons in their first home game of the new Magners League season. Nathan Hines and Gordon D’Arcy are lining up on the side the field at the RDS Arena. The two Lions’ names ring out in the stadium as the substitutes are announced.

The big man from Wagga Wagga and the little man from Wexford receive equal cheer. It is Hines’ first appearance in a Leinster shirt and the fans in the stands seem happy to have him.  Meeting Hines after the match, all 6 feet 7 inches, all 18 stone 9 pounds of the man, you gain an insight into why he is a wanted man in European Rugby.

Speaking exclusively with In The Winning Zone, Hines reflected on what has undoubtedly been the pinnacle of his career so far, being involved in the Lions tour and signing for the current European champions.

Hines’ rugby story has not taken the traditional route. In 1997, when McGeechan and his men were last on South African soil, Hines was playing rugby league in Australia; in fact, he had never played in a competitive game of rugby union.

 “I’d just started playing rugby union at that point,” he ponders. “I didn’t even think about playing rugby union for a while, I was going to stop playing rugby altogether and then I came backpacking to Scotland. I started playing for Gala, then Edinburgh, then Scotland and it all went from there.”

Quite a journey. In the space of three years, Hines went from being a backpacker to an international rugby player. He propelled from having no experience in rugby union to facing up against the best in the business, making his Scotland debut against New Zealand in Auckland in 2000.

The most recent stop on the adopted Scot’s journey was in the south of France, where he spent three seasons providing Perpignan with his power. However, the 32-year-old believes that the time was right for change, and argues that his move to Dublin only underlines his determination to continue to improve at the highest level.

“I was happy [in France], but I didn’t want there to be any bad feeling. When Chris Cusiter signed for Glasgow, he sort of got forgotten about because he wasn’t going to be part of the club so I didn’t want that to happen to me after leaving to go on the Lions tour,” says Hines.

“I had the opportunity to come to Leinster and I thought it would be a good move for me and I’d take it when I could. It’s exciting to come to a club who won the Heineken Cup but to come here and find out that the guys all want to win it again, it’s good.

“It’s strange really, I didn’t think I was improving as a player in France and I didn’t think I played that well last season and I wasn’t challenged. Just because I’m getting older doesn’t mean I want to cruise along.”

He certainly isn’t cruising along. In fact, Hines’ most recent adventure to South Africa could possibly be the most punishing tour he has been a part of. Cruising is not a word in a Lion’s lexicon.

One of only four Scots included in a 37-man squad, and of only two the original paryt before injuries hit, Hines speaks honourably of his time spent with the best players in the British and Irish Isles.

“It was good to be included in a club that not many guys get to be a part of. It was also recognition for my performance, not just last season, but over the past few years.”

He remembers a specific moment on the tour, which really emphasised what it means to be a Lion. When he first joined the camp, Hines recalls watching a training session taking place: “You think you’re at a fairly good level yourself but then you watch these guys and really realise how good players actually are. It’s a completely different level to anything I’d ever experienced.”

Hines believes that he and his fellow countrymen who played a part in the Lions tour have a responsibility to the rest of their Scotland team-mates. “In terms of intensity, it’s up to us to set an example for the rest of the guys,” he said.

The leading lock has had his fair share of controversy within the national set-up, announcing his retirement from international rugby in 2005 due a lack of belief in Matt Williams’ coaching set-up. However, under Frank Hadden, Hines returned to the international arena a year later and has since secured 58 caps for his country.

Hines is positive about new national coaching team, and the winning mentality Andy Robinson is trying to instil into the side. “It’s really good. We’ve only had one camp and it’s been really enjoyable. Andy seems to know what he wants from the players and I think that’s half the battle. If you know what’s expected of you then you go out and do it.

“It offers a fresh start to the guys who have been playing and it’s an opportunity for the guys who haven’t been playing to impress a new coach, so it keeps everyone on their toes.”

Although he is inevitably reaching the final years of his career, Hines is a player gathering pace and momentum rather than winding down. When he returns to Edinburgh next month for the Autumn Tests, he is determined to use his recent experiences to help Scotland give the fans in the stands at Murrayfield reason to cheer.

IC
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