Jonny Hill (rugby union)

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Jonny Hill
BornJonathan Paul Hill
(1994-06-08) 8 June 1994 (age 31)
Ludlow, England
Height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight133 kg (293 lb; 20 st 13 lb)
School Ludlow School
Notable relative Paul Loughlin (uncle) [1]
Rugby union career
Position Lock
Current team Racing 92
Youth career
Luctonians
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2013–2014 Gloucester 2 (0)
2015–2022 Exeter Chiefs 116 (160)
2022–2025 Sale Sharks 56 (45)
2025– Racing 92 8 (0)
Correct as of 3 November 2025
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2014 England U20 2 (0)
2020–2023 England 23 (5)
2021 British & Irish Lions 0 (0)
Correct as of 18 August 2025

Jonny Hill (born 8 June 1994) is an English professional rugby union player who plays at lock for Top 14 club Racing 92. [2]

Contents

Club career

Hill first started playing rugby at local club Luctonians. [3] He represented Gloucester on two occasions in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. [4] On 21 June 2015 it was announced that he would leave Gloucester to join their rivals Exeter Chiefs. [4] In the 2019 Premiership final he scored a try as Exeter were defeated by Saracens. [5] The following year Hill started in both the Premiership and 2020 European Rugby Champions Cup final as Exeter defeated Wasps and Racing 92 to complete a League and European double. [6] [7]

Sale Sharks

In December 2021, it was announced that Hill would leave Exeter to join Sale Sharks. [8] [9] In his first season with the club he started in the 2022–23 Premiership Rugby final which Sale lost against Saracens to finish league runners up. [10]

In November 2024, Hill received a 10-week ban for an incident that took place during the playoff semi-final for the previous season against Bath. [11] A Bath supporter claimed Hill had grabbed him by the throat and left him with a cut above his eye. [11] He accepted the charge and became available to play again from 7 December 2024 onwards. [11] At the end of that season he made his last appearance for Sale in a play-off defeat against Leicester Tigers. [12] [13]

Racing 92

On 8 July 2025, Hill would leave Sale in the summer to sign for French giants Racing 92 on a three-year deal in the Top 14 competition ahead of the 2025–26 season. [2]

International career

Hill represented the England under-20 team twice during the 2014 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. [14] [15] He was selected for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship [16] however an ankle injury prevented his involvement. [15]

Hill was selected in England's 34 man squad for their 2018 summer tour of South Africa [3] and was an unused substitute in the third and final Test. [15] On 31 October 2020 Hill made his England debut, [17] pairing with Maro Itoje in the second row, in England's delayed final Six Nations match away to Italy, which England won to become the 2020 Six Nations champions. [18] In December 2020 Hill came off the bench for England as they defeated France after extra-time to win the Autumn Nations Cup. [19] He scored his first International try against Italy during the 2021 Six Nations Championship. [20]

In May 2021 coach Warren Gatland included Hill in his squad for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. [21] He did not participate in any of the Test series but did score a try in a tour match against the Stormers. [22]

In the opening match of their 2022 tour of Australia, Hill was given a Yellow Card for pulling the hair of opponent lock Darcy Swain. [23] The Wallabies went on to win the match, scoring multiple tries and gaining the lead while Hill was serving his Yellow Card. He was labelled an "English villain" in the Australian press as a result of the incident. [23] Hill retained his starting place for the next test which saw England level the contest. [24] He played every minute of their last game of the tour as England defeated Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground to win the series. [25]

During the 2022 Autumn internationals, Hill started in a draw with New Zealand. [26] He also played in their next fixture as they were defeated by South Africa which was coach Eddie Jones last game in charge. [27] The following year saw Hill included in a training camp by new coach Steve Borthwick preparing for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. [28] Hill played in a warm-up defeat against Wales which ultimately proved to be his last appearance for England as he was not selected for the tournament. [13] [29]

International tries

As of 4 October 2022 [30]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1Flag of Italy.svg  Italy London, England Twickenham Stadium 2021 Six Nations Championship 13 February 2021Win41 – 18

Honours

England

Exeter Chiefs

Sale Sharks

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Stephen (8 April 2018). "Exeter Chief's Jonny Hill can bring down Gloucester". The Times . Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 Fissler, Neil (18 January 2025). "Fissler Confidential: Lions lock to join Stuart Lancaster in Paris". RugbyPass. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Ludlow-born Jonny Hill named in England rugby squad". Shropshire Star. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 Pilnick, Brent (22 June 2015). "Jonny Hill: Exeter Chiefs sign Gloucester forward". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 Pilnick, Brent (1 June 2019). "Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs 34-37 Saracens". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 Pilnick, Brent (24 October 2020). "Premiership Final: Exeter beat Wasps 19-13 to secure historic double". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 Henson, Mike (17 October 2020). "Champions Cup: Exeter beat Racing 92 31-27 to lift first Champions Cup title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "England and Lions Star Jonny Hill Signs for Sale Sharks". Sale Sharks. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Jonny Hill: Sale Sharks sign England and British and Irish Lions lock from Exeter Chiefs for 2022-23 season". BBC Sport. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. 1 2 Hurcom, Sophie (27 May 2023). "Premiership final: Saracens 35-25 Sale - Sarries win sixth title in Twickenham thriller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 "Sale and England's Jonny Hill receives 10-week ban after physically abusing fan". The Guardian. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Harby, Chris (7 June 2025). "Leicester hold off Sale to reach Premiership final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  13. 1 2 Wheeler, Dan; Southall, Nick (3 June 2025). "Sale forward Hill close to France or Japan move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "2014 Six Nations: England U20 67-7 Wales U20". BBC Sport. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 Cain, Nick (11 May 2020). "Hill is his own worst critic". Exeter Chiefs. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Braley captains England Under 20 in New Zealand". ESPN Scrum. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  17. ↑ Jones, Chris (29 October 2020). "Six Nations 2020: England's Jonny Hill to make debut against Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  18. 1 2 Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  19. 1 2 Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  20. ↑ Grey, Becky (13 February 2021). "England 41-18 Italy: Hosts find flashes of flair to bounce back from Scotland defeat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "British and Irish Lions 2021: Sam Simmonds in 37-man squad but Billy Vunipola misses out". BBC Sport. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  22. ↑ Grey, Becky (17 July 2021). "Stormers 3-49 British and Irish Lions: Tourists complete Test preparations with comfortable win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  23. 1 2 Worthington, Sam (4 July 2022). "England Villain Jonny Hill escapes as Wallaby Darcy Swain faces ban". Nine's Wide World of Sports . Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  24. ↑ "Australia 17-25 England: Eddie Jones' side win second Test to level series". BBC Sport. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  25. ↑ Henson, Mike (16 July 2022). "Australia 17-21 England: Tourists seal series win over Australia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  26. ↑ Henson, Mike (19 November 2022). "England 25-25 New Zealand: Hosts fight back to draw with All Blacks". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  27. ↑ Henson, Mike (26 November 2022). "England 13-27 South Africa: Hosts well beaten despite Thomas du Toit red card". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  28. ↑ Jones, Chris (30 June 2023). "England: Luke Cowan-Dickie out of World Cup selection because of injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  29. ↑ Griffiths, Gareth (5 August 2023). "Wales 20-9 England: Warren Gatland's side defeat disappointing England in warm-up". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  30. ↑ "Johnny Hill". ESPN. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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