‘They will be flat-out Test matches’ – Cory Hill

Colin Newboult
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Wales second-row Cory Hill says that there will be no holding back when they take on England and Ireland in their pre-World Cup encounters.

Warren Gatland’s men have four games before the global tournament, taking on the Red Rose and the Emerald Isle in two double-headers.

Although they are playing for places in the 31-man squad, the intensity of the contests may not be at Test-match level due to the risk of getting injured, but Hill insists that they will treat it like a Six Nations match.

“That’s rugby union,” he told Press Association. “You’re going to get injuries no matter what games you play. You can still pick up knocks if you play nations lower down (the rankings).

“Playing England and Ireland is the biggest challenge we could have before the World Cup.

“They will be flat-out Test matches against teams in the top five in the world. They are local derbies as well, so there’s a little bit more to add to it.

“We certainly won’t be undercooked going to the World Cup because I’m sure everyone will get game-time in those matches.”

The 27-year-old played a big part in Wales’ Grand Slam-winning campaign, scoring a crucial against England in the third game of the 2019 Six Nations, but he has not played since then.

He suffered a nasty injury in the act of touching down versus the Red Rose, but is now fully fit and hopeful of taking part in the first warm-up match.

He added: “It was a pretty special moment, but it probably lasted for 30 seconds until I realised I’d done the injury.

“You can’t really complain. I’d had a pretty good run before that and you’ve got to deal with it. You’ve got to get yourself in the right frame of mind to get back out there and fit again.

“I’m ready to go now after putting it in during pre-season and it would be nice to play England again.”

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