GRASSCROFT TEENAGER Liam Parfitt has put his academic career on hold after accepting a two-year contract with Aviva Premiership rugby club Sale Sharks.
The 18-year-old back-row forward, who used to play for Saddleworth Rangers, will defer a place at Loughborough University to study for an engineering degree.
“All I have been thinking about for the last two years has been getting a pro contract and it was a great moment to be offered it,” explained the England under-18 international who has also played for his country at under-16 level.
It is a long way from Liam’s first experience of the sport which was playing tag rugby for Friezland Primary in the Saddleworth Village Olympics.
Liam only began playing rugby union competitively at the age of 12 when he went to Rishworth School where he is currently a sixth former and revising for his ‘A’ Levels this month.
Rishworth is also where Bath’s George Ford, 20, who recently broke into the full England squad, studied though he is two years the senior of Liam. He, too, hailed from Grasscroft.
In the last six eventful years Liam has had two spells at Rangers, played union for both Ashton-under-Lyne side Aldwinians and Halifax-based Old Brodleians as well as being in the Academies at professional clubs Warrington Wolves and Sharks, even though they are from different codes.
Liam, who over Easter played for England under-18’s in France against the hosts and Ireland, said: “It was strange as I was playing union for Aldwinians when I was spotted by Wolves who are a professional RL club.
“There was one year when I was training in the Academies at both Wolves and Sharks which was a bit mad, but eventually I had to make a choice.”
Liam plumped for Sharks where in the season just ended he played for the under-18’s as well as a number of games for their second team, Sale Jets.
He is looking forward later this month to reporting for training with Sharks where he will be able to count internationals like Mark Cueto and Danny Cipriani as team mates.
But at 6ft and weighing 15st (95 kilos), Liam already has the physique needed to be a force as a pack man.
He said: “It will be a massive step up and will be really tough, but I cannot wait for pre-season training to begin.
“To have the chance to train alongside Dan Braid and David Seymour, Sale’s experienced back-row forwards, will be a great experience.”
It is clear the rugby gene runs in the Parfitt family as dad Bryn played Rugby League for Great Britain under-20’s but turned down the offer of a contract with Wigan Warriors to go to university.
As for Liam, he is also a talented sportsman as he also played cricket for Lancashire at under-15 level and also as an all-rounder in the first team at Greenfield in the Saddleworth and District Cricket League.
Liam is also a single-figure handicap golfer at Saddleworth where he plays off seven, but it is with Sharks that he hopes to become yet another rugby player from the area to achieve fame.
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