Wales head coach Warren Gatland has admitted he made a mistake in naming Cory Hill as captain for the final game of the tour, against the Reds on Friday.
Hill was withdrawn from the game shortly before kick-off and Dafydd Jenkins came into the team in the number five shirt with Dewi Lake taking a place on the substitutes bench.
Lock’s decision was made for “personal reasons” which led to speculation it was due to the fallout from Gatland naming him Wales captain earlier in the week.
Retired from the game
That proved to be the case, as social media and the team’s announcement press conference were dominated by an incident Hill was involved in three years ago.
Hill was named among a group of people who damaged a woman’s home in May 2021. Police did not charge him and he apologized at the time through a representative.
“Cory came to me and said he was pulling out of the game for personal reasons, so I had to respect his decision to do so,” Gatland said after the 36-35 win.
“Look, I raised my hand and said I probably shouldn’t have put him in that position.
Wales survive a scare against second-tier Reds as Warren Gatland ends a nine-match drought
“What he’s been doing here in terms of experience, it was a rugby decision I made.
“It probably doesn’t help you when you get some negativity. It makes things harder.
“I probably could have overturned it if I hadn’t chosen him for that position. I have to be held accountable for that.”
“What I can say is that he has been absolutely brilliant since he has been here in terms of his leadership, his experience, how he has helped and worked with the young players.
“I probably looked at it from a rugby perspective and didn’t realise there was going to be some negativity in making that decision. I probably underestimated some of that.
“There are many athletes in the past who have gone through similar situations and for some reason have returned to the ring.
“I think you have to realize that I thought he was brilliant on Wednesday, that he was genuine in his apology for something that happened more than three years ago.
“The fact is that he was not arrested or charged, but he put his hand up and was honest about the fact that he had made a mistake.”
Wales managed to win their first match of the year on Friday by beating the Reds in dramatic fashion in Brisbane, following their 2-0 series loss to the Wallabies.
Archie Griffin, Regan Grace, Rio Dyer, Christ Tshiunza and Nick Tompkins scored tries for Wales before substitute Kieran Hardy’s late cross resulted in the winner.
“Regan finished the try exceptionally well,” Gatland said of the player-turned-rugby leaguer.
“What impressed me about him is that you can see he’s played at the highest level because he made some really good defensive decisions and also some good reads. I think he’ll only get better as a rugby player.”
“They attacked us again and again, but the players showed a lot of character. I think this team is going to be good, we just need a little time together.”
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