Scotland prop forward Elliot Millar Mills has signed a new contract with Premiership leaders Northampton Saints.
The 31-year-old tighthead initially joined Saints towards the end of last season on trial and signed a full-time deal in May 2023.
Millar Mills was called up to the Scotland squad for the first time ahead of this year’s Six Nations.
Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson called Millar Mills’ impact for Saints and Scotland “really impressive”.
“The big thing for Elliot after last season was that he wanted to put some roots down somewhere and show what he’s capable of. He’s grabbed his opportunities with both hands,” Dowson said.
“He moves well within our defence and has become really effective in that space, then in attack his running lines and ability to move the ball fits our game really well.
“He’s also quite a different character to anyone else in the group. A lot of the lads are into things like coffee away from the club. Elliot is teaching himself to code. You need people with different interests and opinions to really make a squad interesting and tight-knit.”
Millar Mills’ first taste of Premiership rugby came with his move to Wasps in 2021 but the club’s financial collapse saw him have short spells with Bath, Edinburgh and the Barbarians before joining Saints.
“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,” he said.
“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. 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.”
Millar Mills played the last 10 minutes for Scotland in Saturday’s shock 31-29 defeat by Italy.
