Richard Hibbard: Port Talbot, Ospreys' Galacticos and Warren Gatland
- Published
Hibbard started the first two games of the 2015 Six Nations before being replaced by Scott Baldwin.
When it comes to Welsh rugby cult heroes, former British and Irish Lions hooker Richard Hibbard would be high among Wales fans' rankings.
He was renowned for an approach akin to running through brick walls at the Liberty Stadium for Ospreys and thunderous tackles which reverberated around the Principality Stadium, particularly on England prop Joe Marler and Australia captain Ben Mowen.
But when it comes to World Cups, Hibbard had his fair share of disappointment. Wales are now reaping the rewards of their hard graft with a quarter-final place at the 2023 tournament in France.
However, Hibbard says he would not attend another Swiss training camp under Warren Gatland for £1m.
"Everything about Gats' training camps was savage, you hate not being selected, but you also have equal fear of being selected because you know how hard those camps are," Hibbard says in the latest in BBC Radio Wales Sport's In-Depth series.
"Even to this day, 2015 World Cup camp, you could offer me £1m and I wouldn't do it now, it blew me away. I'm having flashbacks because of the boys went out there, the same place, the same gondolas coming down the hills.
"You'd be coming down on those gondolas seeing the boys training and spewing on the side of the pitch thinking 'Oh no, it's my turn next'. Even on your days off, because I was in the weighty club, you'd be up the mountains hiking - and that was a rest day!"
Port Talbot to Ospreys' Galacticos
Hibbard grew up in Fairfield, which he describes as a "little rough part" of Port Talbot, but somewhere he still "loves".
While "nearly everybody in Port Talbot" worked at the steelworks, a single shift was enough for Hibbard to decide he would rather play rugby.
It was a good decision, as 38 Wales caps, three more for the British and Irish Lions, two Six Nations titles and three league titles with the Ospreys during a "golden era" for Welsh rugby prove.
"It was an amazing time. You don't appreciate when you're in it, what we had at the time," said Hibbard, who spent a decade with Ospreys before moving on to Gloucester, then Dragons.
"We were about three deep on internationals in every position at one point, the likes of Stefan Terblanche, Justin Marshall, Filo Tiatia, Jerry Collins, Marty Holah - world-class players.
"At first you are a little bit in awe of it. We had [Gavin] Henson, the messiah of Wales, the Galactico era, the superstars, the fake tan, the white boots and the slick-backed hair.
"I do genuinely believe, from those foreign imports, that's what gave us that golden era that followed Wales across the board. You had such good senior pros, they guided you, setting their own examples."
Lyn Jones could 'blow your mind and drive you nuts'
Hibbard left the Ospreys for Gloucester in 2014 before returning to Wales with the Dragons four years later.
Hibbard was not immune to the draw of the superstar image, becoming synonymous for his bleach-blonde locks and white boots something former Ospreys head coach Lyn Jones "hated".
Hibbard, now 39, said: "I remember when I signed the contract [with Ospreys], Lyn Jones saying, 'it's up to you, you can go back into the back-row and be an average back-row, but if we sign you as a front-row we'll convert you to hooker and you'll be an amazing hooker'.
"I took his advice. It was tough because the throwing was such a thing to learn, especially late on, Lyn was harsh with it as well.
"He was a genius with the stuff he looked at, the subtle cheats he taught us. The things he'd see would blow your mind, but when it came to people, he could drive the best of us nuts."
Hibbard had a flavour of Jones' unique style of coaching first hand, prior to his maiden training session.
"My first ever team meeting, all the big superstars coming in. I got there early, sat in the front row. A few boys [were] standing at the back of the room and Lyn said 'Rich, stand up, let one of the real players sit down'," said Hibbard.
"First day, first session, it's one of those things. It built character. It was a fine line, but he definitely built it in me. He had all the best intentions, but the delivery method was a tough one."
World Cup heartbreak
Hibbard earned his Wales debut in the same game as Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans and James Hook, in the first Test of a tour to Argentina in 2006 under head coach Gareth Jenkins.
"I loved Gareth Jenkins. Out of all the people you meet along the way in rugby, he's still one of the nicest you'll ever meet," said Hibbard.
"I had food poisoning the night before the game, but I was never going to pull out of the game. You could have broken my legs and I wouldn't have pulled out of the game!
"Two in the morning I phoned the doctor saying I was sick. Got in the elevator, sick in there, got to the doctor's door, he opened the door and I was sick all over the floor. After you've been sick you have no energy, but I was never going to say I was too rough to do it."
The following year, however ,while preparing for the 2007 World Cup in France, Jenkins delivered a harsh lesson to Hibbard.
"The first day of camp we rocked up and we had three games against England and he (Jenkins) put three teams on the board saying, 'everyone's going to get an opportunity, you'll all get a chance, I want to see everyone play'," said Hibbard.
"I was looking at the teams thinking, I don't see my name in any of these teams and thought he'd made a mistake and said 'Gareth I'm not in any of these teams'.
"'Yeah, you're not going Rich!', he said. The first day of camp, I had to do all this training and know I wasn't going anywhere."
Richard Hibbard: Ex-Ospreys boss Lyn Jones was ‘amazing genius and maverick’
Four years later Hibbard would again fall short of representing his country on the biggest stage.
"In 2011 I was injured leading up to it, got back from injury, crazy amount of time early with my shoulder," said Hibbard.
"I played the last game, Saturday against Argentina, we're about to go on the Monday. About 50-60 minutes on the clock we give a free-kick away. When the pitch was bad and used to tear up, I stepped in a divot and all my ligaments were gone.
"Probably one of the toughest injuries to deal with - 10 minutes after the game I was in the scanner and in the car back home I was told I wasn't going. Those first few days, dealing with the situation, was just brutal.
"It's so dark. All the boys are going to the World Cup and you're starting your rehab, a slow process, it's a really dark place to be."
Gatland '99% of the time made right call'
Richard Hibbard scored against Ireland in a World Cup warm-up match in 2015, but was left out of the squad a week later.
Four years later and Hibbard would be omitted once again, cut from the squad alongside the likes of Hook and Mike Phillips as Warren Gatland fine tuned his group for the tournament.
But there was never any bitterness from Hibbard towards Gatland.
"I was behind on that camp, the other boys got a head start and I went in undercooked," said Hibbard.
"Say what you like about Gats, he made big calls with selections and dropping players; 99% of the time he made the right call."
Under Gatland, Hibbard played some of his best rugby, particularly the 2013 season where Wales went won the Six Nations, before he was one of 16 Welshmen who toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions.
"I think we were on an eight- or nine-game losing streak going into that Six Nations, we lost our tour, lost the autumn, [were] 28 points down to Ireland in our first game," said Hibbard.
"But I've never been in a tighter squad or environment. Gats is clever the way he galvanised us all, the boys all wanted to get out of this divot."
After their second-half comeback against Ireland came up short, Wales would win in France, Italy and Scotland to set up a championship decider against England in Cardiff, a game they would famously win 30-3.
"I was thinking in the game, 'it must be five minutes to half-time', but it was only 12 minutes gone.
"It was so intense. I think that's how we pushed on to get that scoreline," said Hibbard.
"When they turned the lights out after the game and you feel 70,000 people breathing on you, roof closed, the pressure of all the people there before we lifted the trophy, it's one of my favourite memories ever."
You can listen to part one of Richard Hibbard's Radio Wales Sport In-Depth interview with Chris Wathan on Friday 29 September, or in full on BBC Sounds where you can also find recent conversations with Alecs Donovan and Derwyn Jones.