Paul Hill wasn’t hugely tickled by the stand-up comedian he watched at the Fringe festival recently but Edinburgh’s new prop could be the set-up for a sketch himself about a German-born Englishman trying to settle in Scotland.

After nine years with Northampton Saints that concluded with a Premiership title win, Hill has elected to advance his career north of the border having been impressed with the enthusiasm and haste with which head coach Sean Everitt moved to entice him to the capital.

Edinburgh, of course, have a sizeable hole at tighthead to fill following WP Nel’s retirement and Hill is eager to make his mark having been impressed with what he has seen so far from his new teammates in pre-season.

At 29 years old and with six England caps to his name, Hill can certainly lend a welter of experience to a group that fell agonisingly short of making the play-offs at the end of last season and intends to do so.

“I knew I wasn't staying at Saints and Edinburgh came in really keen and really early,” he said of the move. “When I talked with the coach, I got a good vibe off him. It seemed like a really good club and that’s proved to be the case since I got here.

“The first few weeks have been really enjoyable. Pre-season's set us up for the season, so I'm hoping to add to what the boys had last season and hopefully bring a bit of experience from the last ten years I've had at Saints. This is my next step and I'm really looking forward to it.

“I obviously wasn't here last season but, from what we've spoken about among the team, we can’t do the same stuff we did last year. I think the focus this year is on making sure our attacking systems are flowing in the right direction and we're actually making use of the players we've got out wide.

“Because when you look at that team on a sheet, we should be finishing higher than the boys did last season. So the idea this year is to really put a kick on now and make use of the calibre we've got.”

The challenge of replacing Nel is not one he will shirk from either. “I've heard a lot about him,” Hill confirms. “He obviously did a lot for the club and for the country as well. It’s big boots to fill but I intend to do that really. I'm always up for a challenge.”

Hill won the last of his six England caps in 2021 and would therefore be eligible to switch nationalities having served the requisite three-year cooling off period. The only problem is he doesn’t have a Scottish bloodline.

“Not that I'm aware of!” he adds. “I'm sure someone’s digging through my ancestry right now to find someone. I'm actually half German. Everyone I speak to is always like, ‘was your dad in the army?’ But it's absolutely nothing to do with that. My parents are both physios and they met on a physio course in Switzerland. My dad's English, my mum's German and that's that.”

Any move of this nature comes with lifestyle considerations and Hill is in the process of moving his young family north and settling into the city.

"I've been staying at one of the lad’s houses the last three weeks,” he reveals. “But we're moving in next week and getting settled in the city which will be nice. I’ve had a bit of an explore of the Fringe festival as well. We saw one good show and one absolutely terrible show.

“The good one was the circus. The stand-up was four out of ten at best. But it was only three quid, so I can't really complain, can I?”

The Scottish weather has been another challenge to overcome. “When I first came up to have a chat with the coach, the first time looking round, everyone told me it’s freezing cold. But it doesn't rain, that's the only positive. Glasgow rains, Edinburgh's cold and windy! But it's been alright, it's summer at the moment. I'll just get a winter jacket anyway when that rolls around.”