It is not just about coaching, it is what coaching represents.
These are not retired players easing into the next phase, some are still in their early 20s trying to establish themselves.
They are doing it while their own careers are happening, while the meetings, reviews, travel and pressure of professional rugby are still very real. Not afterwards but now, and not for the optics either.
This is not some tidy little side hustle, it is not a story for Instagram. Most of them probably do not even want the attention. It is just a way of staying connected – to the village, to the club, to the mates still there, to the game before it became a job.
Hawkins, 23, is one of the clearest examples.
“Ystalyfera is in my blood,” said the Scarlets player.
“My grandfather used to be chairman and president at the club, my grandmother used to work in the burger van, my mother’s been physio, my head coach now – Gareth James – is my cousin.”
That does not sound like networking, it sounds like home, and when Hawkins explains why he does it, the point sharpens further.
“No, not at all,” he said when asked if he is doing it for money or some kind of professional development.
“In the professional game, there’s so much pressure at times to perform and everything. It’s nice to come back to community rugby where everyone’s doing it for the love of the game and just enjoying themselves.”
