Paul Hill: 'Realistically, up until I was about 15, I was pretty rubbish'

As an England international, Paul Hill is quite a rarity in the BKT URC, but all the more so given he was born in Germany.

The Edinburgh Rugby prop entered the world in Aschaffenburg, a town in north west Bavaria – a fact which often leads to a misapprehension.

“Everyone either always assumes it’s military or that I’m some kind of east German escapee!” he says.

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“It’s neither actually. It’s fairly straightforward really. My dad’s English and my mum is German. They met on a physio course and the rest is history.

“I just happened to be born in Germany. I can’t remember ever living there. I must have been about one or two when I came over to England.”

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The family settled in Doncaster, in south Yorkshire, with Hill starting his rugby journey at the local club – the Knights – before spending four years on the books of Leeds Tykes, during which time he had a season with Otley.

“I started out as a winger, then realised I was too slow for that. So I played back row and realised I was too slow for that as well and eventually I found myself in the front row,” he reveals.

“It was the only thing I was half decent at, so I said ‘Right, this will do’.”

He turned out to be a lot more than just half decent. Catching the eye with his performances on the tighthead, he was selected to represent England at age grade level and was part of the U20s team that won the 2014 Junior World Championship in New Zealand, starting the final against South Africa at Eden Park.

Then, at the age of 20, he was signed up by Northampton Saints where he was to stay for the best part of a decade.

Within a year of arriving at Franklin’s Gardens, he was called up to the senior England squad for the 2016 Six Nations by coach Eddie Jones, making his Test debut as a replacement for Dan Cole against Italy in Rome, thereby contributing to what proved to be a Grand Slam triumph.

“I was on the bench the week before against Scotland at Murrayfield, but didn’t get on,” he recalls.

“I spoke to Eddie Jones because I was wondering what I could do to get on and he said ‘If Coley is playing well, you are not getting on the pitch’ and I was like ‘Fair enough’.

“So, I was waiting round, waiting round out in Rome and then finally got the nod about ten minutes from time. That definitely stands out in my mind. It’s something you will always remember.”

Further caps followed that summer against Wales and on tour in Australia, with a sixth coming versus Canada in 2021 after a five-year break.

Hill was to play some 187 games for Northampton, with his final season at the club coinciding with them winning the Gallagher Premiership title last June.

“I’ve been around a bit now and played a lot of rugby,” says the 29-year-old.

“Very seldom do you meet people who have got good things to say about their past clubs, but I can honestly say I don’t have a bad word to say about Northampton. I loved every minute I was there. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“There were always people in there who could bring humour or entertainment value to the team.

“Seasons can be long and tough and sometimes the best memories you will make are just messing around with the boys after training and having a coffee or all going on a night out. It’s as simple as that. There are on-pitch memories and off-pitch memories.

“My final season there was one where everybody was pulling in the right direction.”

Then, following the title triumph, came the move to Edinburgh last summer.

“My time at Northampton had come to an end,” he explains.

“Edinburgh came in quite early with an offer and I liked what they had to say. I’d heard good things from other boys who had been up here, so I thought ‘Do you know what, I fancy giving it a go, let’s see what Scotland is like’.”

It’s turned out to be very much to Hill’s liking.

“I am enjoying my rugby. I genuinely love turning up for work. I am making lots of mates here,” he says.

“I still feel I have got many years left in me. I am still under 30 – just!

“At the moment, I am loving it. I turn up every day and try and bring as much energy as I can.”

Hill has certainly made an impact, as indicated by him lying fifth in the recently updated URC Top 100, the ranking system which reflects players’ performances across all competitions.

“If the stats say it, I will go with that!” he quips.

“I still feel like I am hitting my stripes in rugby terms.”

This season has given him a first taste of the BKT URC. So, as he prepares for Friday’s clash with Munster Rugby in Cork, what has he made of the league?

“The thing I find most interesting is the variety,” he replies.

“When you have been in the Premiership for a long time, you might as well, after about five years, stop reviewing because you are playing against people you have scrummed against about 15 times and you know exactly what they are going to do.

“So it’s a completely different picture now in that sense. You are coming across all different styles of rugby. It’s very interesting and it keeps you fresh.”

As he looks back on his rugby journey, Hill is quick to acknowledge how fortunate he feels to have had the career he has.

“I was never one of those kids where people were saying ‘Oh, he is going to make it’.

“Realistically, up until I was about 15, I was pretty rubbish and everyone said my elder brother was going to be the one to make it. He was fully grown at 12 and an absolute freak of nature and I was his chubby little brother running behind him.

“I never thought I was going to be the one who made it. You always think someone else is better than you. But I just took it step by step and just kept trying hard.

“It was when I got into England U20s that I thought I might actually make it here. That’s when I got a first taste of it.

“When you play rugby, you will see loads of lads come through, some of them amazing, but they are plagued by injury and never kick on.

“Then, with other people, you think ‘How is he still going?’

“You realise that sometimes it is a complete lottery. You just have to be grateful wherever you are, keep playing, keep plugging away and enjoying it. That’s the big thing I try and bring.

“Rugby is amazing. Sometimes it’s horrible and minging, when you’ve had a bad game or whatever the situation is.

“But then, 95 per cent of the time, you are basically just at school with your mates. That’s all it is. You hang out with your mates all day, you get to run around and that’s what they call a job and you get paid for it.”