He
comes from Golant and was educated at nearby Fowey Primary and Fowey Schools,
along with Mike Provis, before moving on to Truro College.
An
introduction to the game of rugby came at the age of 10, playing mini and then
junior rugby until the age of 16. When at Truro College he also played for Truro
Colts, and then their 1st. XV, making his debut at 17.
Robin
Cowling and Ricky Pellow helped develop his game during time at Truro College,
and Sam was selected for England Colleges in 2005. A year later he was also in
the Truro team, captained by Darren Dawidiuk, that won the British Colleges Cup.
From a sporting family,
dad Martin and brother Tom have both played rugby for Lankelly-Fowey, and mum
Penny plays netball. Sam, himself, is also a fine footballer who has played for
Cornwall Schools at 16 and 18 group levels. Indeed, he might still be playing
the game but for a teacher at school, Nick Naylor, saying he could only play football
if he played rugby as well. Gifted? Yes, but it doesn't stop there, Sam also a
musician and one-time bass guitarist in a group called 'Dilemma'.
A
highlight for Sam in the 2006-07 season, his first with the Cornish Pirates, was
to receive a call up to play for Samurai St. George, an England Sevens development
side that competed in the Dubai -other players in the team included such as Danny
Gray (Bristol) and Tony Roques (Exeter).
In
January he made his senior debut for the Pirates as a replacement in the match
away to Newbury, and followed this with more valuable game time in March and April,
culminating with scoring a try in our 32-20 points win at Coventry on the last
day of the league season.
