Edinburgh confirm WP Nel replacement

Edinburgh have signed England tighthead prop Paul Hill from Northampton Saints on a two-year deal, as reported by RugbyPass.

The United Rugby Championship outfit have acted quickly in finding a replacement for Scotland prop WP Nel, who is set to retire at the end of the season, by bringing in the six-cap international in the summer.

Hill, 29, earned the last of his six England caps in 2021 against Canada, five years after earning his first five caps in 2016. Though he has not been part of the Test picture for a while, his move away from the Gallagher Premiership will make him ineligible to play for England.

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In his nine years at Franklin’s Gardens after joining from Yorkshire Carnegie in 2015, Hill has made 187 appearances for the Saints.

After signing for Edinburgh, he said: “This is a really exciting challenge and one that I can’t wait to get stuck into. From everything I’ve read and heard, Edinburgh is an amazing club and city, while it will be great to test myself in a new league in the URC.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time at Northampton Saints, and I can’t speak highly enough of the people connected to the club and fans who’ve backed me throughout my career so far. However, after nine seasons, the time was right to move on. My family and I are really excited about this move.

“From speaking to Sean [Everitt], he’s got a really clear plan and vision for the club. He wants to win on the field while creating an environment and culture of winning off the field too. It’s something that I can buy into really easily.

“I’m an experienced player – I’ve played nearly 200 games for Saints – while I’m still pretty young at 29, so I know I’ve still got a huge amount to offer. Given my experience, I can hopefully help out some of the younger Scottish props coming through the system too.

“I can’t wait to link up with the squad this summer and represent such a historic club for the next two seasons.”

His soon-to-be head coach Sean Everitt said: “We’re really happy to secure the signature of a player of Paul’s [Hill] quality and experience. He’s played a lot of rugby at a top level and his arrival will only help drive standards and competition at the tighthead position.

“With WP [Nel] hanging up his boots at the end of the year, it was imperative we recruited well in that department. We feel Paul has all the attributes to succeed in our pack, and he can hit the ground running straight away this summer.”