| Date of birth | 8 April 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Surrey, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (16.5 st; 231 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Uplands Community College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sammy Arnold (born 8 April 1996) is an English rugby union player for English club Newcastle Falcons. He plays as a centre.
Born in Redhill, Surrey, Arnold moved to Kent aged five and attended a state school until sixth form, when he earned a rugby scholarship at Cranleigh School. Harlequins had shown interest in Arnold joining their academy, but as a scrum-half rather than a centre.
Arnold made his debut against Dragons at Rodney Parade in March 2015 as an 18-year-old. [1] At the end of the season he won the Club's Academy Player of the Year award. [1] He made his first Champions Cup appearance against Oyonnax in January 2016, [1] but was forced off through injury after 23 minutes. [2]
On 4 February 2016, it was announced that Arnold would be joining Ulster's provincial rivals, Munster, at the beginning of the 2016–17 season. [3] Just weeks after joining Munster, Arnold damaged ligaments in his knee, which ruled him out of the opening period of the 2016–17 season. [4] On 26 November 2016, Arnold made his competitive debut for Munster, starting alongside Jaco Taute in the 2016–17 Pro12 fixture against Benetton at Thomond Park. [5] In January 2017, Arnold was ruled out for 8 weeks with a knee injury. [6] On 27 February 2017, Arnold resumed full training following his recovering from the knee injury. [7]
On 31 March 2017, Arnold started for Munster A in their 2016–17 British and Irish Cup semi-final against Ealing Trailfinders, scoring a try in the 25–9 win against the English Championship side at CIT. [8] On 21 April 2017, Arnold started at 13 for Munster A in their 29–28 victory over English RFU Championship side Jersey Reds in the final of the 2016–17 British and Irish Cup, which was held in Irish Independent Park. [9] He scored his first tries for Munster on 3 November 2017, doing so in the 2017–18 Pro14 win against Welsh side Dragons. [10] Arnold made his European Rugby Champions Cup debut for Munster on 9 December 2017, starting in the Pool 4 fixture against Leicester Tigers in Thomond Park and earning the Man-of-the-Match award in the provinces' 33–10 win. [11]
He was sent-off for a high tackle on Christian Lealiifano in Munster's Pro14 game against Ulster on 1 January 2018 [12] [13] and subsequently banned for 3 weeks. [14] He signed a new two-year contract with Munster in February 2018. [15] Arnold was named the Munster Rugby Young Player of the Year in April 2018. [16]
Arnold joined Connacht on a two-year contract in July 2020, [17] and made his debut for the province against his old club Munster on 30 August 2020.
Arnold moved to France to join Brive, where former Ireland and British & Irish Lions player Jeremy Davidson is head coach, on a three-year contract from the 2022–23 season. [18]
On 19 July 2024, Arnold returns to the UK as he signs for English side Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership Rugby on a two-year deal from the 2024-25 season. [19] On 29 November 2024, despite a yellow card in the closing stages of the game he helped his side to their first win over Saracens since 2009. [20]
After achieving selection at under-18 level in May 2013, [21] Arnold received his first call up for the Ireland under-20 side in February 2015 for a 2015 Six Nations Under 20s Championship clash with France. [22]
Arnold earned his first senior call-up in October 2018, being selected in Joe Schmidt's 42-man Ireland squad for the 2018 Autumn Internationals. [23] Arnold made his senior international debut for Ireland in their 2018 Autumn Test against the United States on 24 November 2018, coming on as a replacement for Will Addison at half-time in Ireland's 57–14 win. [24]