Sam Skinner

Sam Skinner finished school in 2013 and set his sights on travelling the world on a gap year but a late growth spell encouraged him to give rugby one last go.

He was first involved in the then Scottish Exiles (now Scottish Qualified) programme as a teenager, while at Taunton Titans, before he was picked up by the Chiefs in the 2014/15 season.

He was then selected for England U20 – and faced many of his Scotland contemporaries in the age-grade Six Nations – before becoming an increasingly prominent part of the Exeter squad that won the English Premiership title for the first time in 2017 and finished as runners-up in last year’s final.

As well as being part of the Exeter Chiefs squad, Skinner has, for the last few years, combined his work at Sandy Park with that of studying for a degree at the University of Exeter, whom he captained to BUCS Championship success in 2016.

Skinner made his Scotland debut against Fiji at BT Murrayfield in 2018 and has gone on to play his part in some memorable games, including the 38-38 draw at Twickenham in 2019 and the 2021 win over France in Paris, the team’s first such result since 1999.