![\"Sammy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/6389c8f5-c991-4df6-b75d-c35429c58196.JPG\")
Sammy joined his team mates as they walked onto the pitch for their match, cheered on by the Vets teams<\/p>\nSammy Balmforth from Biddulph \u2014 affectionately known by his rugby pals as \u2018Slammin\u2019 Sam B\u2019 after his sporting hero \u2014 has been fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia since his heartbreaking diagnosis in January this year. Sammy was undergoing a routine blood test at his local hospital for an existing condition called\u00a0Immune Thrombocytopenia when his doctors spotted markers for Leukaemia and broke the news.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sammy joined his team mates as they walked onto the pitch for their match, cheered on by the Vets teams<\/p>\n
Sammy\u2019s parents, Chris and Nicola, were devastated by their little boy\u2019s shock diagnosis but between an ambulance transfer to Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital and its specialist paediatric oncology team implementing an immediate treatment plan, they had little time to digest it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Sammy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/14c5b149-becb-4a6d-bde9-9acc1eee6a34.jpg\")
Sammy in hospital – painting an encounter with rugby star George Ford<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within hours of his diagnosis Sammy was admitted to the oncology ward and had undergone a procedure to fit a central line which shortly after, began delivering his first round of chemotherapy treatment. Sammy stayed at the hospital for 10 days, during which he also endured his first lumbar puncture, an injection of vital medicine into his spinal fluid. Chris stayed with Sammy on the ward, while his mum, Nicola, stayed in charitably funded accommodation just down the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/42d9e920-b3a6-41a5-bb3b-42d1bc3d3a92.JPG\")
Before his diagnosis Sammy played regularly for Congleton Under-10s<\/p>\n
Sammy continues to fight his battle with frequent visits to Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital and his local hospital. Though he’s now able to spend more time at home, he’s not well enough to play his beloved rugby. To give back to the charities that have supported them through such a turbulent time in their lives, Sammy’s family decided to combine his love of the sport with their gratitude by hosting a charity rugby match in his name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
After rallying the rugby community to take part, spectate and support the cause, the match took place at Burntwood Rugby Union Football Club, between Sammy\u2019s old and current clubs \u2013 The Veseyans and Congleton Club. Veterans of each club played the first match, with their under-10s teams then carrying their scores as they went head-to-head to determine which club would win the coveted \u2018Slammin\u2019 Sam B Trophy\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sammy watched and cheered from the sidelines as his dad scored tries for the Congleton Vets team contributing to the club\u2019s victory against the Veseyans, before crossing the pitch to join his rugby family for a group photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
As well as the match, Sammy\u2019s family and rugby pals organised an auction, cake stalls and even a sponge toss to raise funds for Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital Charity and their other chosen causes. They even managed to secure special video messages of support for Sammy from some of his favourite famous players.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sammy\u2019s dad, Chris, said: \u201cSammy\u2019s diagnosis turned our family\u2019s world upside down and although he\u2019s being so brave and positive about his treatment, not being able to be active and play rugby has been really difficult for him. As well as saying thank you for the incredible care and support we continue to receive at Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital, our fundraising match was about doing something Sammy loves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so grateful to our family, friends and the wider rugby community who come together as one big, united front to make the match such a success and help make a difference for other kids and families in the same position as us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital Charity, said: \u201cWe can\u2019t thank Sammy and his family enough for rallying their community to support our hospital and charity through such an unthinkable and difficult time in their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs well as raising awareness of childhood cancer and our hospital and charity, the funds raised through the Slammin\u2019 Sam B rugby match will go on to help us do more for the 100,000 sick kids our hospital treats every single year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve been inspired and would like to fundraise for Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital Charity, or donate, please visit bch.org.uk or call 0121 333 8506.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sammy Balmforth from Biddulph \u2014 affectionately known by his rugby pals as \u2018Slammin\u2019 Sam B\u2019 after his sporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,379,12,604,16,15,4350],"class_list":{"0":"post-137351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-local-hubs","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-staffordshire","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-your-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}