Disgraced Wales captain issues overdue apology after ‘regretful’ 2021 incident
Wales second-row Cory Hill in action against the Wallabies.
Fresh after being named as Wales’ skipper for their clash with the Reds on Friday, Cory Hill has apologised for an incident which happened three years ago in which a woman’s house was damaged.
He was part of a group of men responsible for the incident in which the woman said she was left fearing for her life as well as her children’s.
That incident took place in May 2021 and although he was not charged by police, Hill issued an apology via a press statement at the time.
The 32-year-old second-row was plying his trade with Cardiff but left Wales later that year to join a Japanese club.
Made Wales return against Wallabies
And after a three-year international absence, Hill was called up for Wales‘ tour of Australia where he made his return to the international arena during the recent Test series against the Wallabies.
He came on as a replacement in the Tests in Sydney and Melbourne but will now lead Wales out for the Reds encounter in Brisbane and made his apology at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Do I regret it? Yes, of course I do,” he said, speaking publicly for the first time about it. “I made a mistake and I am sorry. It’s about me coming back into the camp and proving my worth within the group, getting respect.
“I’m chuffed to be captain. I’ve done it before and I thank Warren for having the trust in me. It’s a massive honour to lead the team again. I probably never thought I would get to captain Wales again.”
Hill takes over the captaincy from tour skipper Dewi Lake, who was not included in the matchday squad for the clash with the Reds, but is no stranger to the leadership role as he captained Wales in two Tests against Argentina in 2018.
The decision from Wales head coach Warren Gatland to award the captaincy to Hill for the Reds match has received plenty of criticism on social media but the 34-cap international is not paying much attention to it.
“There’s always going to be negative reaction to mistakes someone has made in the past,” said Hill.
“I’ve been honest and open here. The issue got dealt with by club and authorities three years ago. I hold my hand up and I am sorry for what happened.
“We’ve had a good discussion around it. Warren has put trust in me to come back into the team and add a bit of experience to the young group.
“I feel like I’m doing that and loved every minute being back here.”
Gatland spoke about his decision to award the captaincy to Hill and revealed that he thought long and hard about it.
“We had a chat about what happened in the past and had a heart-to-heart about that,” said the coach.
‘Regrets what happened’
“Cory said to me he made a mistake three years ago and he regrets what happened. Young men do make mistakes.
“It happened, we had an honest discussion and Cory was very up front with me.
“I’ve been clear people do make mistakes in life, with some decisions or actions they wish didn’t happen.”
Gatland said he feels everybody deserves a second chance.
“You can’t keep holding everyone at ransom over that,” he added.
“At some stage, you’ve got to move on and that’s what we’re trying to do as a group.
“It’s about putting that to one side and picking someone with that rugby experience and knowledge who has that respect from the rest of the players in the squad.”
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