Hamilton hopes to restore reputation by leaving French coast
Scotland Test star Hamilton has joined up with his new teammates after negotiating an early release from his mammoth three-year contract at Montpellier – a deal reputed to be worth upwards of £350,000-a-year.
But he concedes France was not for him and is looking forward to making a fresh start with the ambitious Allianz Park outfit.
“Going forward, France wasn’t an experience that suited me and the opportunity to join Saracens, even though I was conscious I had a couple of years left over there, was something I couldn’t turn down,” Hamilton, 31, told The Rugby Paper.
“The British rugby culture might suit me slightly better and I didn’t want to finish my career with a load of ‘what ifs?’ hanging over it.
“I felt I lacked a bit of integrity for leaving Gloucester for financial reasons, and then I obviously didn’t honour the contract in France, but I felt I would have lacked even more integrity by staying at Montpellier for the wrong reasons.
“I’ve realised having been in France how much I enjoy rugby, training and everything that comes with being a professional sportsman here and I’m really looking forward to enjoying the next few years with Saracens.
“France is not for everybody, as I discovered, but if I hadn’t done the year I’d always be regretting not having been. In a sense I’m a little bit sad with how it’s gone, but that’s professional sport sometimes these days.”
Hamilton is aware he faces stiff competition for a first team place at Saracens and is keen not to be pigeon-holed as the new Steve Borthwick.
He explained: “I’m obviously filling a second row space within the squad and I’ve got huge admiration for Borthwick as a player and the way he dealt with the whole England scenario when he lost the captaincy.
“Borthwick’s a fantastic player and there are parts of his game that I looked to add because he did all the nuts and bolts, a lot of the dark stuff that people don’t see and he did it with discipline, which is something I’m trying to bring into my game as well.
“But hopefully I’m not going to be viewed as Borthwick’s direct replacement because I don’t think anyone can fill his boots. Hopefully, I’m going in there with my own identity and I’m looking to just push hard for a place.
“They’ve got some fantastic young locks. I’ve spoken to Maro Itoje and he’s a fantastic player, while Al Hargreaves is their new captain and they’ve got other good options in George Kruis, Mo Botha and the Irish boy, Eoin Sheriff.”
“The fact I’ve played nearly 60 times for Scotland and have a good reputation is all well and good, but it’s not about what you’ve done, it’s all about the future at a club like Saracens.
“I’m not going to be in there calling the shots, I’m going to work hard to fit in. I enjoy people’s company and I’m a good team man, so I’ll not expect an automatic starting slot.”
Saracens sent shockwaves through French rugby last season by defeating Top 14 giants Clermont Auvergne 46-6 in their Heineken Cup semi-final final. They lost the final to Toulon but Hamilton is convinced they can go one better.
He added: “There was shock in France over the intensity and physicality Saracens brought to that game and it was something I’d never seen in a Heineken Cup match before.
“The frustration Saracens had last season in not quite finishing off the job in finals has been parked now and they want to go the extra mile in both big tournaments.
“The fact we’ve drawn Clermont again in the European Rugby Champions Cup is fantastic and I’m looking forward to repaying Sarries for showing faith in me.”
NEALE HARVEY
*This article was published in The Rugby paper on July 20
