Young Gun: Paul Hill – England u20s & Leeds prop
A Leeds Carnegie player since 2010, the 18-year-old has been training with the first team this season.
But any hopes of making his first team debut in the British & Irish Cup have been put on pause – most of his time has been taken up with England duty.
Having first been joined the England development camps three years ago, the German-born player has been duly working his way through the age categories before making his first appearance at U18 level against Scotland last March.
Chances are he will back on international duty during the U20s Six Nations, meaning more time away from his club, but Hill knows such experiences will stand him in good stead down the line.
“I have been training with the Leeds first team and got close to making my debut in the British & Irish Cup but I was away with England,” said Hill.
“You have just got to be happy you are involved in England, you can’t really be annoyed about missing games if you are playing for your country.
“I have been getting a heads up from the coaches that my chance is coming, there are some British and Irish Cup matches left in January, but then the U20s Six Nations is soon too so we’ll have to see.
“I’ll always choose England but obviously my other aim is to break into the Leeds first team.
“The main thing this season is getting regular game time, from the U20s and at club level, that’s the only way you can really develop, from being in new environments and learning from that.
“I’m working hard and the rewards will hopefully come.”
Rewards have already started to arrive for Hill, with a place on the U18 summer tour to South Africa coming after the team secured the European U18 Rugby Union Championship last March.
The prop scored his maiden try at that level as England saw off home side France 27-22 in Grenoble, an experience that proved a real eye opener for him.
“The FIRA final was amazing, it was the first time I had played in front of a stadium that big with thousands of fans cheering for you, or in our case mainly Frenchmen booing,” he added.
“I was the most nervous I had been before a game, but it all clicked once the game started.
“I don’t remember much of the game apart from scoring the try as it’s all a bit of a blur, it was once in a lifetime stuff, especially for a prop to touch down.
“And it just gives you that extra motivation to get to play in front of those crowds again.”
When not playing for England or training with Leeds, Hill has also been pulling on the shirt of Otley in National Two North.
And with Leeds Academy manager Mark Luffman and coach Jon Pendlebury both helping out at Otley, Hill is ensuring he is never far from his club’s mind.
“It’s my first year of playing proper adult rugby so it’s a step up and a learning curve,” said Hill.
“I’ve been out with Otley, and with having the same coaches I can show them what I can do. It’s great to get 80 minutes week in week out.
“I realised in 2010 that I wanted to play rugby professionally, so I’ve just got to keep working hard and keep learning.”
