Elliot Millar Mills re-signs with Saints

Elliot Millar Mills has agreed a new deal to remain at Northampton Saints, the Club can today announce.

The 32-year-old prop has featured in Black, Green and Gold 26 times to date since arriving in Northampton at the start of last season – including in both the Investec Champions Cup semi-final and the Gallagher Premiership Final, where Millar Mills helped Saints lift their first league title in a decade.

His first season as a Saint also saw success on the international stage, with a string of impressive performances leading to a maiden Scotland cap in the 2024 Six Nations.

Millar Mills – who is currently in camp with Scotland for the Autumn Nations Series – now has five Test appearances to his name, and it is his ability to take everything in his stride that has impressed Northampton’s Director of Rugby Phil Dowson the most about the prop’s time at Saints so far.

“Elliot settled in really well at Saints and really found his feet quickly,” he said. “His story is unique; after what happened at Wasps, he bounced around and played with the Barbarians, Bath and Edinburgh.

“To then find a home with us, where he felt comfortable to be himself and felt comfortable to put those performances out on the pitch, shows his character.

“He’s performed exceptionally well, both in the set piece and in the loose, and that was recognised by his Scotland call-up. Now he’s become an international and is somebody who we trust to run our game plan.

“It speaks volumes about our Club, but also speaks volumes about him. He’s a driven character and there’s still more in his game to improve. We’ll keep pushing him to achieve more and, as with everyone in our squad, I want to make sure we get the absolute best out of him.

“Elliot buys into the DNA of the team – he buys into the team-first, Saints-first mantra. He is a very good man and we’re delighted to be keeping him around.”

Millar Mills began his playing career with Stockport and Macclesfield, before a successful trial period with Leeds Carnegie yielded a full-time contract and an initial move north of the border to Edinburgh. He also appeared for England Counties in Canada in 2016.

After turning out 44 times for Ealing Trailfinders in three seasons in the Championship – winning the Championship Cup with the West London outfit in 2019 – Millar Mills joined Wasps in the summer of 2021 and made 21 appearances in all competitions.

After Wasps went into administration, Millar Mills had short stints with Bath, Edinburgh and the Barbarians before walking through the door at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, where the 121kg tighthead made his Northampton debut in the opening round of last season’s Premiership Rugby Cup against Ealing Trailfinders.

“I’m thrilled to be staying in Northampton after a truly incredible first season at the Club,” said Millar Mills.

“It was a rollercoaster from start to finish; I started off by running out in preseason in August, but by the turn of the year I’d been involved in some incredible games like the wins over Saracens and Exeter away and Harlequins at home, which became the catalyst for our whole season.

“From there it didn’t really stop for me – by the time we got to beating Munster away in the Champions Cup I’d already played more games, and made more memories that I really cherished, than I had in any other season of my career.

“Then getting the call-up to Scotland was incredible – playing at places like the Principality Stadium, beating England at Murrayfield was class. Getting to come back in and go through the run-in at Saints was amazing too, and then, of course, the Premiership Final (while I’ve put the actual game out of my memory) was just incredible. To do all that in a season is something I’ll cherish forever.

“The environment here at Saints is fantastic, everyone gets on with each other and we always try to build each other up as a squad. The coaching is fantastic here as well. They’re constantly driving us to be better, asking us to find a little bit extra each week, and that all adds up to the performances that win games.

“As a group, I believe we’re in a better position than we were at this point last season, so I’m excited to keep growing as a team – we’ve got a very special group here and we feel like we can achieve anything.”