I started in the mini & juniors at Doncaster from 4 or 5 years of age playing here until I was 17. I had 8 seasons at Harrogate before returning home to Phoenix in 2016. I took over as captain due to injuries half way through my first season and have been in the role ever since.

What has been your playing / Phoenix highlight?

There are a few that spring to mind firstly beating Waterloo away on the final game of my first season to avoid relegation was and amazing win, to top it off it was a hell of a bus trip on the way home. More recently the away victory at Newport was a very special one.

Finally sampling the infamous scum run is an extraordinary moment in any Phoenix player’s career.

Who is the best / worst - Phoenix trainer / singer / dresser??

I hard to say best and worst trainer, to be fair to all the boys they do put the work in at training and turn up with a good attitude, especially during this pandemic.

Best singer is Paul Curzon just for his stage presence and variety of songs.

Best dressed is easy, Lids wins by a country mile but Matty Drennan must be worst dressed just because of how tight his skinny jeans are. I looked at the label after one game and can conform they are from the Primark’s women’s section.

Considering the pandemic - did you think we would have gone a year without any rugby?

Definitely not a whole year I thought we would be back playing in January however considering the jokers we have in charge it shouldn’t have really been a surprise to anyone.

What have you missed most about no rugby this season?

Everything! The buzz of waking up on a Saturday morning knowing you have a game of rugby ahead of you can’t be replaced. Also just missing seeing the lads and abusing each other at training, I am really looking forward to a run out at training again next month all being well.

Would you like to think we will see some Phoenix rugby before the end of this season?

I think we are past that point now unfortunately, however I really hope the lads can get together to start training again and building towards next year! We have a really good opportunity to have a great preseason and be flying come the start of next season. Hopefully the break has made the boys hungry and eager to get back into and keep getting better. We were really improving and getting into our stride when the pandemic started so hopefully we can find that form again when we return.

Do you have any tips for surviving lockdown?

Exercise! Whether it is be doing brutal hill running sessions or a nice walk in the park, just getting out in the fresh air and getting your heart rate up does both your physical and mental health the world of good. Making sure I train everyday has definitely kept me sane during this whole pandemic.

What have you been doing to keep busy?

I have a 14 month old daughter called Francesca who keeps us very busy, life is always great now she is here! I am getting her trained up already to be a future Demons star. I also moved house in January so unpacking boxes and decorating has kept our mind off lockdown.

England have been disappointing in the Six Nations – what’s your view?

I don’t like to criticise as I know there isn’t a lack of effort, I also think some of our players are suffering from not playing much rugby which is not their fault. However I do wish we played with more ambition and more heads up rugby, it is not great to watch us kick the ball away for 80 minutes. Hopefully they will get it right next weekend.

Thank you, Sam, any final thoughts?

Fingers crossed the world gets back to normal over the summer and I Iook forward to seeing everyone down the club sooner rather than later. The first post-match fines sessions is going to be a good one, I have a very long list of fines and a lot of making up to do!