Sam James (born 3 July 1994) is an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player, currently playing with the Sale Sharks. He usually plays as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

but can also play as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

or fullback. Sam is known for his magnificent handling and ball skills, as well as his kicking game.

Club career

Sam made his professional debut against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

on 21 April 2013 at 19 years of age. James played every minute of the 2018-19 Gallagher Premiership season, the only player in the entire league to do so. He was selected in the BT Sport Dream Team for the 2019-20 Gallagher Premiership season, in which

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...

pundits choose their team of the season. He has amassed over 200 caps for Sale, with over 150 of these coming in the Premiership, making him one of the more experienced players in the squad, despite his relatively young age. This seniority within the squad has led to James captaining the side on numerous occasions.

International career

James toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

with

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

in the summer of 2016. Sam made his England debut in 2017 against the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

, providing an impressive offload to assist Nathan Earle’s try. He was called up to the senior England squad by Eddie Jones for their 2017 summer tour of Argentina.

Honours

Individual *Sale Sharks Young Player of the Season: 2014-15, 2015-16. *BT Sport Team Dream Team: 2019-20. Sale Sharks *

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

: 2019-20.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Sam 1994 births Living people England international rugby union players English rugby union players People from Wilmslow Rugby union players from Manchester Rugby union centres Sale Sharks players