Sale forward Hill close to France or Japan move
Departing Sale Sharks forward Jonny Hill says he is close to finalising a move abroad to either France or Japan for next season.The 30-year-old England and British and Irish Lions lock joined Sale from Exeter in 2022 and has made more than 50 appearances, including 16 this season, for the club.Ludlow-born Hill said he was keen to see what rugby was like outside of the UK."Being a farmer's son growing up in Shropshire [I'm] so lucky to play a sport that gives you the opportunity to travel the world and see different places," he said."I just thought these opportunities, once the rugby career's finished, I'm not going to get the chance to do that."I'm in negotiations for potentially heading over the water to play in either France or Japan. I've just got to dot a few Is and cross a few Ts, and then we'll see."
Cricket helped 'grieving' over World Cup omission
Rugby has not been the only sport close to Hill's heart.A keen cricketer all his life, Hill played in the Shropshire league for Corvedale and he says the club were a bit of a sanctuary for him when he missed out on selection by England for the Rugby World Cup in 2023.After his omission from Steve Borthwick's squad for the tournament in France, Hill sought out his old cricket club to help get over his disappointment."It's always difficult not getting selection," Hill told BBC Radio Shropshire's 'The Cricket Show'."As part of my grieving, I went and played for Corvedale and had a good day."That was something of an understatement, with Hill taking 6-27, external from 10.3 overs in a win over Lilleshall thirds."There was a slight hill and I'm 6ft 7in, so I guess the people in that league weren't used to the ball coming at them from that sort of angle," he said."I always enjoyed it. With cricket you're able to play against senior players quite early so I enjoyed playing men's sport at an early age."Just doing other things away from your craft is really important as a professional athlete and going away and doing something else can freshen you up."Hill is now focused on helping the Sharks win the Premiership title after their win over his former club Exeter booked Sale a play-off semi-final away to Leicester Tigers.But once the post-season is over, Hill's attention will turn to the prospect of a fresh start to his rugby career and his is keen to "maximise" that opportunity."If I don't like it, I can always come home," he said. "So I'd rather give it a go than retire and regret it."
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10 minutes ago
- Reuters
South Africa name nine uncapped players in expansive squad
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The Independent
11 minutes ago
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Leader Live
12 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Trai Hume wants Northern Ireland's young guns to set standard for squad
Hume and his Sunderland team-mate Daniel Ballard have been celebrating earning promotion to the Premier League after a dramatic play-off campaign that ended with victory over Sheffield United at Wembley. And that came at the end of a month in which Conor Bradley received his first Premier League winner's medal with Liverpool and fellow 21-year-old Justin Devenny lifted the FA Cup with Crystal Palace. Representing on the big stage 💚🤍 #GAWA @SunderlandAFC | @hume_trai | @dg_ballard — Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) May 24, 2025 Ballard, 25, and Hume, 23, will double the Premier League contingent in Michael O'Neill's squad, something that Hume believes can only help as they look ahead to their World Cup qualifying campaign that starts in September. 'I don't think there's any doubt,' Hume said. 'You're exposing yourself to the best league in the world, so you want to try your best to do well there and if you can, you're going to become a better player because of it. 'Obviously me and Dan are still young, Conor and Justin are still young, so hopefully we can have a lot of years in the Premier League and that will only benefit Northern Ireland going forward. 'I have no doubt there's other players in the squad that will get themselves into the Premier League as well. Obviously it's us four at the minute and hopefully we can try and push the lads and bring them up to the standard that we're going to set.' Northern Ireland are preparing for Saturday's friendly away to Denmark and Tuesday's match at home against Iceland, but their eyes are already on September when they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign with an away double-header against Luxembourg and Germany, with Slovakia also in Group A. Playing in high-pressure games like the Championship play-off final is valuable experience ahead of facing the likes of Germany, and Hume said: 'I think it will help us deal with the atmosphere a bit better. Obviously, the calibre of players will be a lot different. I think we will try our best to deal with that. HUUUUUUUUUUME ❤️ — Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) June 1, 2025 'I think the big games you do play in, you get used to the emotion of it and the challenge of playing in front of the crowd and not getting caught up in the emotion of the game. 'Germany is definitely going to be a lot different than Sheffield United. Like I say, we will just have to try our best to be ready and be focused for it.' Germany are obvious favourites to top the group, with Northern Ireland vying to beat Slovakia and Luxembourg to second place and the play-off spot that would bring. Ballard said they would treat their games against those two nations as cup finals. 'I think we can make a really positive start to the group,' he said. 'I think the games against Luxembourg and Slovakia are going to be really important for us. I think they will all be like cup finals. 'I feel like we have a real opportunity this year to go and put ourselves in a strong spot to qualify.'
