Samuel George Skinner (born 31 January 1995) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh. Born in England, he represents Scotland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
| Full name | Samuel George Skinner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 31 January 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Exeter, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (256 lb; 18 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Torquay Boys' Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Exeter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editSkinner's father comes from Ayr.
Skinner studied at the University of Exeter, achieving a first in business and economics,[1][2] and captaining the University side to the 2016 BUCS Championship.[3][4]
Club career
editAfter a late growth spurt, Skinner started his career with Taunton Titans. He played ten matches in National League Two South during the 2014-15 season.[5]
He was then offered an academy deal by Exeter Chiefs, which he juggled with studying for his degree.[2] This was later upgraded to a three year pro deal. “I trained and played for Exeter Chiefs alongside the university team [captaining Exeter to the BUCS Championship in 2016] and studied full-time,” explained Skinner. “They [the Chiefs] were brilliant. If I needed a week off for exams they were excellent at giving me that time. I was a late developer, I signed for Exeter at 90kg so for a year they allowed me to develop, to put on another 5-10kg and get my size up to Premiership and international level.”
On 14 November 2014, Skinner made his first-team debut in the LV Cup against Gloucester Rugby before making his Premiership debut against Northampton Saints.[2] He scored his first top try for the Chiefs in a 36-14 home win over Newcastle Falcons in February 2017 before starting his first game against Wasps RFC in September 2017.[6] His debut was called the ‘performance of the weekend’ in The Daily Telegraph.[7] In May 2018, Skinner was a second-half replacement for Mitch Lees as Exeter lost to Saracens in the Premiership Grand Final at Twickenham Stadium.[8] He was described as one of Exeter's ‘standout players this season’.[citation needed]
Skinner won two Premierships with Exeter, and the Champions Cup in the double-winning year of 2020, before switching to Edinburgh Rugby in 2022.[9]
International career
editWhile with Taunton he was picked up by the Scottish Exiles programme.[10]
In June 2015, Skinner scored a try for the England Under-20 team against Wales in the pool stage of the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[11] Skinner came off the bench for the last five minutes in the final as England finished runners up to New Zealand.[12]
Qualifying through this father, in October 2018 Skinner was called up to the senior Scotland squad for the Autumn Internationals.[13] On 10 November 2018 he was given his Scotland international debut, starting at lock against Fiji at Murrayfield Stadium. Skinner received the Man of the Match award; making 7 tackles and 44 metres in the game.[14][15]
A hamstring injury prevented Skinner contending for a world cup place.[16] In 2023 Skinner was selected in Scotland's 33 player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.[17]
References
edit- ^ Sandes, Duncan. "Exeter rugby set for starring role in Six Nations". University of Exeter. University of Exeter. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "Exeter Chiefs Player List". exeterchiefs.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ David, Barnes (10 November 2018). "Sam Skinner: 'I've grown up supporting Scotland and England, which is very rare I suppose!'". The Offside Line. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "Exeter Chiefs' homegrown stars aiming to topple big-spending Montpellier". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Sam Skinner: 'I've grown up supporting Scotland and England". 10 November 2018.
- ^ "Sam Skinner on his 'surreal' first Premiership start for Exeter Chiefs". Devon Live. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Sam Skinner | Aviva Premiership team of the weekend: Who shone in round four? - Rugby Union". The Telegraph. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Chiefs 10 Saracens 27". exeterchiefs.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Sam Skinner: 'Salary cap was only one reason for leaving Exeter, the URC is a tougher league'". inews.co.uk.
- ^ "Scotland (Sam Skinner) - Scottish Rugby Union". www.scottishrugby.org.
- ^ "2015 World U20 Championship: Wales U20 16-30 England U20". BBC Sport. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Final heartache for young Chiefs". exeterchiefs.co.uk (Press release). Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Scotland: Blade Thomson, Sam Skinner and Sam Johnson in Autumn Tests squad". BBC Sport. 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ "Sam Skinner: 'I've grown up supporting Scotland and England". 10 November 2018.
- ^ "Scottish Rugby on Twitter".
- ^ "'It was just pure, sheer devastation' - How Sam Skinner dealt with the worst news of his career".
- ^ "Scotland squad named for Rugby World Cup 2023". Scottish Rugby Union.
External links
edit- Sam Skinner at ESPNscrum
- Sam Skinner at ItsRugby.co.uk
- Sam Skinner at Scottish Rugby Union
