Sam Riley (born 23 April 2001) is an English professional

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 its m ...

player who plays as a

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for Premiership club Harlequins.

Club Career

Riley first joined the Harlequins academy at the age of 15. In the academy he captained the under-18 side and became known for his powerful ball carrying ability and his natural leadership qualities. He graduated to the senior side ahead of the 2019–20 season. Riley made his first team debut against Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership Rugby Cup during the 2019–20 campaign before making his league debut against Newcastle Falcons in the opener of the

2021–22 Premiership Rugby The 2021–22 Premiership Rugby is the 35th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition and the fourth to be sponsored by Gallagher. It is also the first since 1992–93 to feature thirteen teams. The competition will be ...

season. In January 2022, Riley agreed a contract extension having made seven appearances for the first team side. By this point in his career he had already been with the Harlequins setup for six years. In April 2024, he scored the winning try for Harlequins as they beat Glasgow Warriors 28-24 at home to win their first ever Champions Cup knockout game.

International Career

Riley has represented England at age grade level having competed for both the under-16 and under-18 team. He scored tries against

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and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

during the

2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 14th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all the matches were played at Cardiff Arms Park, Ca ...

. He then started in the last round of the competition as England defeated

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at Cardiff Arms Park to complete a Grand slam. In February 2024 Riley was called up to the England A side alongside Harlequins teammates Fin Baxter,

Oscar Beard Oscar Charles Beard (born 20 November 2001) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team. Early life Beard was born at Frimley Park Hospital in Frimley, ...

and

Cadan Murley Cadan Murley (born 31 July 1999) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins. Rugby career Club In January 2018 Murley made his club debut for Harlequins against Scarlets in the A ...

and scored a try in a victory over

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Honours

England U20 *

Six Nations Under 20s Championship The Six Nations Under 20s Championship is an international rugby union tournament. It is the under-20s equivalent of the Six Nations Championship. Originally the tournament was in an under-21 format but changed to under-20s in 2008. England wer ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

* U20s Grand Slam: 2021

References

2001 births Living people English rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Surrey {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub