Ted Hill admits poor form, not selection bias, has cost him England recall

Ted Hill has conceded that his own performances, rather than any oversight by England head coach Steve Borthwick, are responsible for his continued omission from the national squad ahead of the Nations Championship in July.

The Bath loose forward has been stuck on five caps since representing England against the USA in July 2025, and the 27-year-old made no attempt to deflect blame when asked about his international absence.

“Personally I don’t think I have put my best foot forward this year in order to be in that position but, of course, that’s where I want to be and I want to keep working and keep pushing to be there,” Hill said.

Hill, who stands 1.96m and weighs 112kg, is valued for his ability to operate at both lock and in the back row, but a combination of injury and inconsistency has limited his influence at club level this season. For the first time since joining Bath from Worcester in autumn 2022, more of his appearances have come from the bench than as a starter — a shift that reflects a difficult campaign rather than a change in the coaching staff’s long-term view of him.

“To start off with, I think it’s been a little stop-start — a bit through injury, which is frustrating and never where you want to be as a player,” he said. “It is not been quite where I’d have wanted it in the earlier part of the season. But I’ll keep training, keep working hard and I think it’s looking like it’s turning a corner, hopefully, and my performances will keep on improving.”

Hill revealed that he has not had any recent direct conversations with Borthwick about specific areas to address, but said he no longer needs that external steer to identify where he must improve.

“Obviously I’ve had stuff in the past. I think at this point in my career, not that I am that old, I know what I need to work on and I know what I need to improve and I know the levels that are required to get into this Bath team, let alone the England team. Big standards are required.”

Despite the frustrations, Hill was clear about his ambitions within a competitive Bath squad. “I want to be involved but obviously that’s not always possible because we have got an amazing squad and everyone deserves to play. But being selfish, I want to play every week.”