Tonight's rugby news as Wales contact club over shock return to national team

These are your evening rugby headlines on Monday, May 20.

Hill in line for Wales recall

Cory Hill looks set to return to Wales duty this summer, more than three years on from his last appearance in a red jersey.

The lock left Welsh rugby in 2021 to join top Japanese side Yokohama Canon Eagles, but now plies his trade further down the divisions with Secom Ruggets in the Top East League.

Hill has 32 caps for Wales, the last of which came against France in the 2021 Six Nations. When he initially left for Japan, he became ineligible to represent his country but that changed when the 60-cap rule was lowered to 25 last year.

The 32-year-old was included in Warren Gatland's preliminary training squad for last year's World Cup, but pulled out in order to make the move to Secom Ruggets. At the time, he said he was "gutted" to be leaving but held out hope of one day pulling on the famous jersey once again.

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It now looks as though that day might come this summer, with Japanese rugby news site RugbyJP.com reporting that the WRU has contacted Secom Ruggets about Hill's status and availability ahead of Wales' tour of Australia next month.

Asked why he had selected Hill in his initial World Cup training squad last year, Gatland spoke of how valuable his experience would be to his side. "He's an outstanding line-out caller, gives us that mobility and athleticism in that tight five and I think he'll put some real pressure on the other second rows," the coach added.

Williams 'should go' to Australia

Former Wales star James Hook says Warren Gatland should include Johnny Williams in his Australia tour squad despite a tumultuous season for the Scarlets centre.

Williams featured once at last year's World Cup, starting the pool stage match against Portugal, but saw a lot of his preparation time hampered by a calf injury. He returned to URC action in November but two months later was slapped with a six-week suspension for a high tackle against Clermont.

That ban was issued just 24 hours after he missed out on selection for Wales' Six Nations squad, but after delivering a series of impressive performances since his return, Hook argues that the powerful 27-year-old should be part of Gatland's plans this summer.

"He's had an indifferent season after the injury and ban but he's hit the ground running since he's been back," said Hook on Scrum V after Williams starred in Scarlets' 32-18 win away to Zebre.

"He's a big strong man who always seems to skip out of contact and break the first tackle. We're not blessed with many centres at the moment so Scarlets need to keep him and he should go to Australia [with Wales] this summer."

However, the seven-cap international could find well himself ineligible, with negotiations still ongoing over a new contract with the Scarlets. Williams has received interest from a handful of English clubs, including Gloucester, with any move across the border bringing his Test career to a halt.

Sinckler eyes England comeback

Kyle Sinckler says his England career is far from over as he prepares for a new chapter with Toulon.

The tighthead prop signed off for Bristol Bears in a 53-28 win over his former club Harlequins at the weekend ahead of joining the Top 14 outfit next season, in a move that will make him ineligible for international selection.

Sinckler's last appearance for England came in last year's World Cup semi-final, when South Africa secured a narrow win thanks largely to a series of set-piece penalties. However, the prop - who was subsequently left out of Steve Borthwick's Six Nations squad - is determined to work on his scrummaging and told ITV that he was heading to France to test himself against "the best and the biggest".

But he added that he was "coming into the peak" of his career and implied he would be targeting selection for the 2027 World Cup at the age of 34, once his spell in France is over.

“The decision for me to go to France was that I want to test myself against the best and the biggest in the scrum," said Sinckler. "You’re going to get that every week in the Top 14.

“There has been a lot of trial and error for me as well. I’ve been very grateful for the coaches I’ve had at Quins and the coaches I’ve had at Bristol. I hold my hand up, I haven’t been the easiest of players [to coach], but in terms of my maturity, it’s about accepting it and taking full responsibility.

“I have probably been my own worst enemy and now I’m coming into the peak of my career," he added. "They say with props you age like a fine wine, so I’ll be learning my trade and testing myself against the best week-in, week-out for the next three years and then I’ll come back in 2027 and I’ll be ready to go.”