The young hooker is drawing inspiration from what it means to be FC’s number 9
Hull FC’s Amir Bourouh smiles during the game
With a smile and a nod of his head, Amir Bourouh greets the question of responsibility and the recognition of history with the type of assurity of someone comfortable in their surroundings. That wasn’t always the case for the young Huddersfield-born hooker, who found his way to Hull via Wigan and Salford, gradually heading east.
It’s certainly now the case for a player empowered by his head coach and seemingly inspired by those who have treaded a familiar path.
In the last 20 years Hull have not had many players step into the hooking role. Instead it is a short list of favourites and trophy winners, topped by club greats Richard Swain and Danny Houghton, accompanied by the likes of State of Origin and Australia star Shaun Berrigan and New Zealand international Aaron Heremaia.
It was Houghton’s retirement that brought Bourouh to Hull from the now defunct Red Devils. Led by necessity for game time and not by choice, Bourouh led a nomadic existence to the start of his career. Arriving in East Yorkshire at the age of 24 he was readying to start at Hull FC, the seventh club of his fledgling career after a number of sort-term loan deals while trying to cut his teeth at Salford.
Now, as he prepares to start his second Super League campaign at FC, he stands as a more confident player, one with a better understanding of the club’s history and his own role in that.
“I didn’t really think about it too deeply last year about the history of the club, my position, that sort of thing. I was just keeping my head down, getting used to the club and getting on with it,” Bourouh tells Hull Live.
“But when I looked back on the season and Richard Swain came over last year and I watched some stuff of him playing at this club and you think about it. Obviously you see everything that Danny (Houghton) has done here, he pops up and is around for us all the time. Then you think about it more.
“It is a massive honour and a massive privilege, you know, the people that have won that shirt before me and the responsibility I have to my team and the supporters. Hopefully this team can replicate some of what they’ve done and we can bring some silverware back to FC.”
Bourouh’s growth was visible last year. With Cade Cust often employed elsewhere due to injuries and not used in tandem with Bourouh as had been the original plan, the young hooker found himself thrown in the deep end but emerged with his head held high above he water line.
Trusted by the coaching staff to be the main man at number nine for FC, Bourouh responded by elevating his game and emerging a s abetter player for the experience of it all.
“Last year was a bog one for me,” he adds. “I’ve had many a chat with Carty (John Cartwright) where he just pulled me aside and said, ‘look we’re backing you here. I’m backing you’, that was massive for me.
“Even if I thought I was having a dip or something like that, he’d tell me that straight away. I probably played more minutes last season than I have in the whole of my career combined and I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from that. I feel like it’s really set me to be in a great place for this season.”