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Sam Millard - Player of the year
Jonathon Hill2 Jun 2023 - 19:00
Sam Millard - Player of the year
Player of the Year: Sam Millard
Not many players can boast scoring twenty tries in one season, almost one a game. This is what makes last season so remarkable for Sam Millard, Pontefract Rugby Club’s no.8 loose forward, who deservedly collected awards for Players’ Player of the Season and Leading Try Scorer at the Club’s Presentation Evening last week.
Born and brought up in Featherstone, it’s not surprising that Sam learned his rugby at Featherstone Lions ARL Club where he played from the age of seven. However, his strong-running and uncompromising defence is a boon to both Codes of the game and his conversion to Rugby Union five years ago was almost seamless.
‘Some of the more intricate Laws of Rugby Union are still a little baffling at times, to be honest’ concedes Sam. ‘But the core skills required are the same as Rugby League. The breakdown in Union can be brutal, when you compete for the ball after the tackle, so you have to concentrate to get your entry-point and body position right in order to survive and avoid giving away a penalty.’
Pontefract’s head coach, Craig Fawcett, heaps praise upon Sam: ‘Millie is a dynamic ball-carrier, and scoring 20 tries in a single season at this level is a remarkable achievement. He is virtually unstoppable when the try-line is in sight and his all-round contribution certainly helped us win the league [the RFU’s Regional Two, NE division]. Hopefully, his form will continue in Division One next season’.
Now he has grasped fully the Laws of Rugby Union, who knows how many tries Sam can score in the higher league next season? The sky’s the limit for the 28 year-old commercial energy consultant from Featherstone.
Not many players can boast scoring twenty tries in one season, almost one a game. This is what makes last season so remarkable for Sam Millard, Pontefract Rugby Club’s no.8 loose forward, who deservedly collected awards for Players’ Player of the Season and Leading Try Scorer at the Club’s Presentation Evening last week.
Born and brought up in Featherstone, it’s not surprising that Sam learned his rugby at Featherstone Lions ARL Club where he played from the age of seven. However, his strong-running and uncompromising defence is a boon to both Codes of the game and his conversion to Rugby Union five years ago was almost seamless.
‘Some of the more intricate Laws of Rugby Union are still a little baffling at times, to be honest’ concedes Sam. ‘But the core skills required are the same as Rugby League. The breakdown in Union can be brutal, when you compete for the ball after the tackle, so you have to concentrate to get your entry-point and body position right in order to survive and avoid giving away a penalty.’
Pontefract’s head coach, Craig Fawcett, heaps praise upon Sam: ‘Millie is a dynamic ball-carrier, and scoring 20 tries in a single season at this level is a remarkable achievement. He is virtually unstoppable when the try-line is in sight and his all-round contribution certainly helped us win the league [the RFU’s Regional Two, NE division]. Hopefully, his form will continue in Division One next season’.
Now he has grasped fully the Laws of Rugby Union, who knows how many tries Sam can score in the higher league next season? The sky’s the limit for the 28 year-old commercial energy consultant from Featherstone.
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