Northampton Saints deal delights teenage prospect Zac Berrill

Northampton topped the Aviva Premiership last season before losing 29-24 to Saracens in the play-offs.

Junior scouts from the Saints spotted the 16-year-old’s talents at an academy festival and rewarded him with a sports scholarship at Oundle School in …

On earning the deal, Berrill said: “I am really pleased. It’s a big club and I am excited to play for them.”

Berrill, who can play on the wing or at full-back, has been a firm fixture at Harrogate rugby club’s junior teams in recent years while also representing North Yorkshire and the North of England.

But his career has not always been focused on the oval ball, though, and he started his sporting journey on the football fields.

He has also played cricket for Yorkshire’s representative teams and was the Yorkshire junior boys 300m sprint champion – running in the English Schools Championships.

After finishing his GCSE’s at St Aidan’s School in Harrogate, he will now study four A Levels at Oundle School as well as continue his rugby development.

“The school place was a big thing. I was unsure of where to go to school next year and it this deal came with a great school and a Premiership club.

“I’m looking forward to going to a new school, meeting some new friends and boarding for a first time.”

“I will be in the Saints academy for the next couple of years trying to break out from the junior academy into the senior one.

“Hopefully I will then get a professional contract.”

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