New prop Paul Hill outlines his Edinburgh ambitions and explains German roots
Tighthead up for the challenge of replacing WP Nel
Born in Germany and capped by England, Paul Hill admits he is taking a step into the unknown by signing for Edinburgh.
The club’s new tighthead prop is not familiar with the city but has been quickly won over and not even seeing a dodgy stand-up at the Fringe has put him off.
Hill, 29, has come to Scotland after almost a decade’s service with Northampton Saints which culminated in their clinching the Premiership title in June. He made close to 200 appearances for the club but his game-time was limited last season and when Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt came calling Hill decided to move north.
“I knew I wasn’t staying at Saints and Edinburgh came in really keen and really early,” he said. “When I talked with the coach I got a good vibe. The first few weeks have been really enjoyable. Pre-season's set us up for the season, so I’m hoping to add to what the boys had last season and hopefully bring a bit of experience from the last ten years I’ve had at Saints.”
Hill has been quickly won over by Edinburgh as a city, even if he is slightly trepidatious about what the winter holds. His family is moving up and he’s looking forward to exploring more.
“I know it’s a bit colder, but Edinburgh's slightly more glamorous than Northampton,” he jokes. “But it’s an amazing city and it’s a really good club. It’s really exciting actually.”
Edinburgh have signed Hill ostensibly to replace WP Nel after the stalwart tighthead called time on his career. Nel, who played over 200 times for Edinburgh and won 61 caps for Scotland, is a tough act to follow but Hill is relishing the opportunity. “Yeah, absolutely, I’m always up for a challenge,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about him. He obviously did a lot for the club and for the country as well. It’s big boots to fill but I intend to do that.”
Hill has played six times for England, with the last of his caps coming against Canada in 2021, but he was actually born in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg and is keen to dispel a popular misconception around his German roots.
“I’m half-German. Everyone I speak to is always like, ‘was your dad in the army?’ Because I think around the time I was born there was a big British army presence in Germany. But it’s absolutely nothing to do with that. My parents are both physios and they met on a physio course in Switzerland. My dad’s English, my mum’s German and that’s that. I moved over to England when I was young. It must have been about two or three. We used to go back a lot when I was younger, but not so much anymore. I’m not great at speaking German. It’s broken at best. If you give me two weeks over there it’ll be better.”
In the meantime, Hill intends to get to know Edinburgh a bit better and take in more of the Festival. “I’ve been to a few shows. We had one good show and one absolutely terrible show. The good one was a circus. The stand-up was four out of ten at best. But it was only three quid, so I can’t really complain, can I?”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.