Former England and British and Irish Lions lock forward Jonny Hill says he has not ruled out the idea of playing for his country again but described his move to France as a “dream come true”.
Ludlow-born Hill, 31, is playing Top 14 rugby with Racing 92, having left Sale Sharks last summer after three years in the north west.
His move to France makes him ineligible to play for England under the Rugby Football Union’s ‘overseas players rule’ but Hill remains hopeful of adding to his 23 caps at some stage in the future.
“I don’t want to rule anything out,” Hill told BBC Radio Shropshire’s ‘The Rugby Show’.
“For me I’ve still got two years in France and I’m really enjoying it.
“I’ve got a young family here and it’s been amazing so far.
“I always wanted to get to France after my three years at Sale.
“To get to France as an older player, is difficult. You need to be not too far past 30.
“It’s a dream come true.”
- Sale forward Hill close to France or Japan move
- Hill to leave Sale this summer
- Club bosses back England’s no overseas players rule
Hill first got an England call up for the tour to South Africa in 2018 and, although he was named on the bench for the final Test of the series, he did not feature.
Looking back at that experience, Hill said being an “apprentice” on that tour taught him a huge amount ahead of making his Red Rose debut in 2020.
“That experience was invaluable because two years on I made my debut and in those two years I was able to see what the best do on and off the pitch,” he said.
“In a day you’re only on the field training for less and an hour and half so there’s a lot of time between sessions.
“People like George Ford, Owen Farrell, Mike Brown, Ben Youngs and Chris Robshaw, who was captain – rubbing shoulders with those guys and seeing what they did.
“It was disappointing not to play on that tour but using it to my advantage and gaining knowledge on what these guys were doing between sessions to get better, I think that helped me on to the success I had two years later.”
‘I didn’t feel like I deserved my medal’
Hill’s international debut in 2020 against Italy in the final game of that year’s Six Nations was the last time England won the tournament.
He called that late experience of the Covid-affected championship “a bit of a back door entry” into England’s title-winning celebrations but is happy to have been part of it.
“I didn’t really feel like I deserved to get my medal,” Hill said.
“But it is what it is – I’m a Six Nations winner.”
With this year’s tournament starting on Thursday as defending champions France take on 2024 winners Ireland in Paris, Hill said the excitement around the country is palpable.
“There’s a massive buzz around France. Everyone’s talking about it. I think they will be too strong for Ireland.”
England open their campaign against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday and Hill said the home side “should win comfortably”.
“England have got a really big opportunity to get the monkey off their back with a bit of silverware and they’ll just keep improving.
“It’s going to be a great Six Nations.”
