Huddersfield Rugby Union Club have signed highly-rated teenage centre Sam Nunn from Old Rishworthians.

And the 18-year-old Yorkshire and North of England prospect – who also plays on the wing – is planning to push strongly for a National II North starting slot.

Nunn is already training with Gareth Lewis’s senior squad at Lockwood Park and getting ready for pre-season friendlies at Preston Grasshoppers on Saturday, August 19, and at home to Pocklington the following weekend.

“When Huddersfield inquired about me and wanted to get me on board I thought it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss,” said Nunn, who helped Rishies win promotion to Yorkshire I last season.

“It is a huge step up and I’m under no illusions how tough it’s going to be for me, but I’ve got huge ambitions in rugby, I want to go to the highest level I can and Huddersfield are a great club who are going well – so it’s a great opportunity.

“Training has been really intense, more so than anything I have experienced before.

“We have done a lot of conditioning work and fitness and it’s been intense to say the least, but absolutely top quality.

“I’ve never had back-specific coaching before and Phil Gostling is great with us. You can tell he knows all about backs, and the work I’m doing with him will really benefit me.”

Nunn, from Halifax and a former student at Crossley Heath who is heading via Calderdale College to do Sports Coaching at Leeds Beckett University, took up the game only at 12 and joined Old Rishworthians the following year.

For the last three seasons he has played centre for the Yorkshire age-group teams and, this time, he played on the wing for North of England Under 18s.

He is 6ft 2in and weighs in at 93kg (14st 6lb), and Nunn says he is optimistic for the season ahead – Huddersfield’s first league fixture is at South Leicester on Saturday, September 2.

“I’ve come all through the age groups at Rishies and it’s been great, getting my chance in the first team at 17 and winning promotion to Yorkshire I last season, but coming to Lockwood Park was a chance I couldn’t miss,” he explained.

“My aim, first of all, is to compete for a first-team spot because there is a lot of competition in the Huddersfield team among lots of good players, so it’s not going to be easy.

“I’m giving it my all in training to try and impress as much as possible and earn a chance, while as a club we know a lot of people aren’t giving us much chance and think we will go straight back down.

“But training is going really, really well, we are all determined to do as well as we possibly can and we feel we are more than capable of staying up and, if we produce what we are capable of, challenging in the top half.”