Scotland prop Elliot Millar-Mills commits to Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints have confirmed that tighthead prop Elliot Millar-Mills has signed a new contract to extend his stay at Franklin’s Gardens.

The 31-year-old made his Saints debut at the beginning of the season, having arrived at the back end of last season on a trial basis following a stint at Edinburgh after his former club Wasps went into administration. He has gone on to make 16 appearances for the club since then, helping them climb to the top of the Gallagher Premiership table.

Since arriving at Northampton, Millar-Mills has also broken into the Scotland squad, and earned his first cap against Wales in the opening round of the Guinness Six Nations, adding two more caps so far this tournament.

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After signing, he said: “I’m really enjoying the day-to-day at Saints with the group we’ve got here, and the style of play is a lot of fun, so I’m delighted to extend my contract for longer.

“I’ve got a young family who are really settled here in Northampton, and Saints have been so welcoming for them, which makes a huge difference. I also love playing at cinch Stadium in front of Saints’ crowd – this is a proper rugby club, I’d never experienced a home crowd like it until this season at the Gardens.

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“The coaches have also been fantastic with me, and that’s definitely a factor in wanting to stay, as I don’t think I would be managed better anywhere else. Radders [Lee Radford] has put a lot of energy into helping me get better in defence, Ferg [Matt Ferguson] has helped me with scrummaging and nailing down how I should be operating around the park, while Kempy [Chris Kemp] got me in the best condition possible through a tough strongman preseason.

“It’s all still very new and I’ve not given it too much thought, but it’s pretty cool to be able to call myself a Scottish international now. I wouldn’t have done it without Saints. That’s not just down to the team and the coaching – this time last year, I didn’t have a job.

“If Saints hadn’t have come in, I might have been done with rugby, so it’s been a remarkable year. I hope we can do something special together by the end of this season.”

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson added: “Elliot’s had an unorthodox journey through rugby. He’s played in the Premiership, URC, Championship, and within the National League pyramid as well – and due to some pretty unfortunate circumstances, played for five clubs last season alone.

“It was a brutal year, especially for a guy with a young family. But Elliot is very, very intelligent, picks things up quickly, and has been really consistent whenever he’s played for us. That’s been rewarded with a few caps for Scotland now and I am so pleased for him to be involved in a successful period with them.”