Upper Sixth student Steffan Emanuel, Millfield's 1st XV rugby captain, spoke to us about his experience of playing first team rugby at Millfield. 

How long have you been at Millfield?  

I joined Millfield in Lower Sixth, and I am now in my final year. I joined Millfield because of my brother, Ioan, who left the school this year. He would often tell me how good the rugby programme was and what an amazing experience he has had at the school, so it was a no brainer for me to join. 

What do you like most about the Millfield Rugby programme?  

I really like how inclusive the rugby programme is, whatever team you're in and whatever standard you play, you will receive the best attention and the best coaching. In the rugby programme there are lots of amazing opportunities, and we get to play games every week. They don’t just focus on the first team; the coaches also make sure to give the same amount of attention and opportunities to the younger age groups and the recreational teams.  

What training programme do you follow?  

We train three times per week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then we have a team run before game days which are usually on a Saturday. We train in the gym as a squad three times a week, but you can also choose to train in your own time if you want to. We also have analysis sessions which help us review our play to see how we can improve and preview our opponents to get an insight of what we will be facing and how we can combat that. Analysis is something we’ve used a lot more this year, and it has really helped us improve our performances. These sessions normally last about an hour, depending on the focus of the session. 

What is your favourite sporting achievement at Millfield? 

I have lots of sporting memories at Millfield. However, I would say my favourite memory would be winning at the St Joseph's College Schools Rugby Festival in my first year, and the trip to Thailand where we competed in the World Schools Festival of Rugby, which was an incredible experience.  

What are you currently studying at Millfield?  

I am currently taking BTEC Sport and Geography A level. 

What are your sporting hopes for the future? 

I am currently at Bath Rugby completing the U18 programme there, in the future I'm looking to get a Pro contract. I hope to one day represent my country which is Wales, and if that doesn’t happen then I would like to go into coaching so I can still be involved in rugby.