Cardiff Blues have confirmed the signing of Wales forward Cory Hill “on a long-term deal”.
The 28-year-old, who has 25 caps and has co-captained Wales, started his career at Blues, playing for Moseley briefly in 2013 before joining Dragons.
Dragons announced in April that lock or back row Hill – whose contract was up – was leaving and asked Welsh rugby bodies to “look into the move”.
“I’m really excited to be returning to Cardiff Blues,” Hill said.
“This is where I began my career, where I came through the ranks and I have a huge amount of friends at the club.
“I will always be grateful to the Dragons, and their supporters, for the seven years I enjoyed at Rodney Parade. I have so many fond memories and immense pride from captaining them.
“However, I feel now is the time for a fresh challenge and a new direction in my career. There is a huge amount of talent in the Blues squad and a lot of young boys coming through with potential.”
Hill played 110 games for Dragons and captained the side 30 times.
The 6ft 5in player made his Wales debut against Australia in 2016 and can play second row or flanker.
Initially selected for the 2017 Wales summer tour of Tonga and Samoa, in June of that year Hill was called up for the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand as an injury replacement.
Hill was co-captain of Wales’ summer 2018 tour matches against Argentina and South Africa alongside Ellis Jenkins and scored a memorable try in the 2019 Six Nations win over England.
He travelled to Japan as part of the 2019 World Cup squad, but injury ruled him out during the tournament.
Hill was back for the 2020 Six Nations, helping Wales beat Italy in coach Wayne Pivac’s first tournament game in charge.
He missed the next three matches through injury before being recalled for Wales’ final Six Nations match against Scotland on 14 March before the game was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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