Samson Lee (born 30 November 1992) is a

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 ...

international

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 currently playing for the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

having previously played for

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

and

Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acco ...

. His position is prop forward. Lee has represented

, making his debut against Argentina in November 2013.

Club career

Lee began playing rugby with the

Felinfoel RFC Felinfoel RFC is a Welsh rugby union club representing the town of Felinfoel, Llanelli, West Wales. Felinfoel RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for Llanelli Scarlets. Club honours * WRU Division Two West - 2007/08 ...

youth side, as well as with Coedcae School. Lee joined the Scarlets at age 15, and progressed through the academy while playing for

Ammanford RFC Ammanford Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Ammanford, West Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets. History Ammanford RFC's first officially recorded rugby ...

and later

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

. He made his first Scarlets appearance in a preseason friendly against

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

. Lee was named in the 2013–14 Pro12 Dream Team, along with teammates Gareth Davies and Liam Williams. In 2015, Lee signed a national dual contract with the Scarlets and WRU. He extended the contract the following year. Ahead of the

2016–17 Pro12 The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was the ...

season, Lee underwent shoulder surgery, missing the beginning of the season. Lee was part of the Scarlets squad that won the league that season, but suffered a recurrence of a knee injury in the final. Lee extended his Scarlets contract in 2020, and on 11 October 2020, made his 150th appearance for the Scarlets. In 2022, Lee suffered another achilles injury, a long term injury. Lee made his return to the field on 6 May 2023, for

Llandovery RFC Llandovery RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanymddyfri) is a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The club is an inaugural member of the Welsh Rugby Union, currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and is a feeder ...

against Newport, after 14 months of recovery.

International career

In 2012 Lee represented the

Wales national under-20 rugby union team The Wales national Under 20 rugby team is for Welsh rugby union players aged 20 or under on 1 January of the year during which they are selected. Under 20 age grade rugby came into existence, as a result of the IRB combining the Under 19 Rugby Wo ...

, in both the

2012 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2012 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was a rugby union competition held between February and March 2012. England won the tournament and the Triple Crown. Final table Results Round one Round two Round three Round four Roun ...

and

2012 IRB Junior World Championship The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championships. The event was organised in South A ...

. He was part of the U20 squad that defeated New Zealand U20 in the Junior World Championship for the first time. In October 2012 he was called into the Wales squad for the

2012 end-of-year rugby union internationals 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

, but did not make his debut. He made his full international debut versus Argentina on 16 November 2013 as a second-half replacement. He came off the bench in the next two test matches, against Samoa and Australia. Lee was selected in the squad for the

2014 Six Nations Championship The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championshi ...

, but did not gain any further caps. Lee was selected in the squad for the

2014 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa In June 2014, Wales toured South Africa, playing a 2-test series against the Springboks. In addition to the two Test matches, Wales also played a warm-up uncapped match against domestic club side . The three matches coincided with the June Inte ...

, coming off the bench in the first test. He made his first start in the second test, as Wales narrowly lost to South Africa, in place of stalwart Adam Jones. Lee was cited for a headbutt on

Flip van der Merwe Phillip Rudolph van der Merwe (born 3 June 1985 in Potchefstroom) is a South African rugby union rugby player who plays in the lock position for French Top 14 side . Career Free State Cheetahs / Cheetahs Van der Merwe attended Grey Colle ...

and received a five week ban. By the autumn, Lee was pushing for first choice, starting all four tests in the series. For the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested b ...

, Lee retained the starting birth, but was ruled out of the second match against Scotland, having suffered a concussion in the opening fixture against England. He returned to the team after recovering, but suffered an achilles injury against Ireland, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Lee overcame odds to recover in time for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. During the tournament, Lee scored his first international try, coming against Uruguay. Lee started all five matches for Wales during the

2016 Six Nations Championship The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. I ...

. During the match against England, he was racially abused by prop

Joe Marler Joseph William George Marler (born 7 July 1990) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Harlequins in the Premiership. He is also one of the hosts of The Joe Marler Show podcast with Tom Fordyce. Background Marl ...

, for which Marler received a two match ban and £20,000 fine. Lee also played against England in a warm up match ahead of the 2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand. Lee played in all three of the tests, starting the final two. A knee injury ruled Lee out of the 2017 Wales rugby union tour of Tonga and Samoa. Another achilles injury would see Lee unable to participate in the

2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the November internationals, or autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were international rugby union matches in 2017. Rugby Championship winners New Zealand travelled to Fr ...

. Lee recovered in time to be selected for the

2018 Six Nations Championship The 2018 Six Nations Championship (known as the Natwest 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations. The championship wa ...

, starting the first three matches of the series. A back injury prevented Lee from featuring in any of the tests on the 2018 Wales rugby union tour to Argentina and the United States. Finally, a hamstring injury kept Lee out of the

2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2018 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a number of rugby union test matches played during October and November, primarily involving countries from the Northern Hemisphe ...

. Lee recovered in time to participate in the

2019 Six Nations Championship The 2019 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

, featuring in the first two tests before succumbing to injury, as Wales went on to win the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. Lee was not selected in the squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. After more than a year out of international reckoning, Lee returned to the Wales squad for the

2020 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2020 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the 2020 Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a number of rugby union test matches contested during the months of October, November and December 2020, primarily involving ...

, playing in four of the tests. Injury would prevent his selection for the

2021 Six Nations Championship The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...

. Lee earned a recall to the Wales squad for the

2021 July rugby union tests The 2021 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were a series of international rugby union matches that are typically played in the Southern Hemisphere during the July international ...

, following an injury to

Tomas Francis Tomas Francis (born 27 April 1992) is a Wales-international rugby union player who plays at tight head Prop (rugby union), prop for Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. Club career Francis signed his first professional contract with Doncaster Knig ...

, but he did not appear in any match day squad.

International tries

Personal life

Lee is a member of the Traveller community. He was subject to racial abuse from England prop

during a Six Nations match in 2016, for which Marler received a fine and two match ban.

References

External links

Scarlets Profile

WRU Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Samson 1992 births Living people Ammanford RFC players Irish Travellers from the United Kingdom Irish Traveller sportspeople Rugby union players from Llanelli Rugby union props Scarlets players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players