Paul Hill: Northampton's secret weapon

Given the promising position the club was in domestically and in Europe at the turn of the year, it’s fair to say Northampton Saints fans will be disappointed with how their 2014/15 campaign ended.

Time waits for no man, however, and attentions are already being turned towards the 2015/16 season.

Tighthead prop Kieran Brookes has been brought in to replace the departing Salesi Ma’afu, Jamie Gibson and Michael Paterson will arrive to bolster the pack and JJ Hanrahan and Pat Howard have been signed to add options to the back line. There are also rumours abounding that Taulupe Faletau may be on his way to the Gardens to fill the void left by Toulon-bound Samu Manoa.

To a man, they are all top class signings who will undoubtedly aid Northampton’s bid to regain to the Premiership trophy next season and make a more substantial run on the European Rugby Champions Cup. That said, there’s a very real chance that they could end up playing second fiddle to another signing, one which has gone relatively under the radar.

Paul Hill, star of the current England U20 side and winner of a Junior World Championship in 2014, will join Northampton next season from Yorkshire Carnegie and has the potential to be one of the best Premiership signings in recent years.

It is not uncommon for Greene King IPA Championship players signed by Premiership clubs to go under the radar, but as Tomas Francis has shown this season with Exeter Chiefs, that does not mean they aren’t destined for success in the highest tier of English rugby.

Hill offers incredible potential, having accrued 15 appearances for Yorkshire Carnegie before he even turned 20, and has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he already has the physical prerequisites to compete at a higher level.

It’s at U20 level and on the international stage where Hill has really made his name, however, anchoring an excellent England scrum in their successful 2014 JWC campaign. Hill has continued, relentlessly, this year, helping an England side which has gone through a lot of transition over the last year, maintain their scrum dominance.

Powerful and with excellent technique, Hill is arguably the most impressive tighthead to grace the competition since the U19 and U21 classes were amalgamated back in 2008. This includes recent loosehead-to-tighthead convert Thomas du Toit, who is certainly the other standout prop since the competition began seven years ago.

Hill and du Toit actually went head-to-head in the final of the competition last year, with Hill establishing a small, but significant, advantage over the South African and it’s just a shame, thanks to du Toit’s switch to tighthead, that we didn’t get to see the same contest again this year.

With Brookes likely to be involved in England’s Rugby World Cup squad and therefore unavailable for Northampton at the beginning of the 2015/16 season, there could be an early opportunity for Hill to stake his claim for a starting spot with the Saints. The young prop should be in the mix, with Gareth Denman and the Waller brothers, to fill any potential tighthead void and he has everything required to do so with aplomb.

Barring any serious injuries, Hill is an England tighthead in the waiting and Northampton, for their own long-term ambitions as well as England’s, should look to take advantage of the RWC and accelerate his development early next season.

Forwards Coach Dorian West will help take Hill’s game to the next level and with considerable experience coaching both U19 and U21 levels, knows how to get the best out of young players and mould their games to cope with the rigours of senior rugby. The opportunity to learn from Alex Corbisiero should also be of benefit, as could teaming up once again with Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, the loosehead with whom Hill had so much success during the 2014 JWC.

There’s no doubt Hill has a bright future, but that future could quickly become the present over the next few months and he is certainly a player to keep an eye on as England transition from the 2015 RWC to the 2019 RWC cycle.