Haresfinch rugby player marks try with celebration for his mum

Diagnosed with stage three breast and lung cancer in March 2022, it has been a tough couple of years for Sammi Sullivan and her three sons.

Although the illness has had a huge physical and emotional strain on Sammi, her dad Mark and sons Declan, Taylor, and Jax have been with her every step of the way, supporting her through her various chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.

After a long two-and-a-half year battle, Sammi was finally declared cancer-free in June, and to mark this milestone, 13-year-old Declan came up with a special idea to celebrate his mum's recovery.

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Declan, Jax, and Taylor have been a huge support through their mum's cancer journey (Image: Sammi Sullivan)
Desperately wanting to pay tribute to his mum and her cancer journey, Declan came up with the idea of celebrating a try in her honour, and in the last few minutes of Haresfinch's under 14s game against Hindley on Sunday, September 8, he was able to do just that.

In the pouring down rain, Declan’s last minute try secured the win for Haresfinch and he celebrated by lifting up his rugby jersey to showcase a 'My Mum Beat Cancer' t-shirt.

Although the Cowley pupil had informed his teammates and coach of his plans, his mum was none the wiser and she broke down in tears as her overjoyed son showed off his shirt in front of the Haresfinch crowd.

All of Declan's teammates jumped in with the celebrations (Image: Sammi Sullivan)
Declan, who was devastated when he first found out the news about his mum's diagnosis, said: "I had the idea a couple of weeks ago at my mum's charity party [for the Lilac Cancer Centre] because I really wanted to do something for her.

"I had told my teammates and coach about the celebration, but not my mum so I was really eager to score. 

"I just wanted to show how proud I was of her”.

After two-and-a-half year battle, Sammi got the all clear in June (Image: Sammi Sullivan)
Although Sammi had bought the t-shirt for Declan, she was unaware he was planning to wear and celebrate with it.

Sammi, 34, said: “I record Dec all the time so I already had my phone out and was able to capture him on video parading down the field with his teammates in tow, jumping all over him to celebrate.

“You could see he was holding back the tears because they had a few minutes left of the game, but once they shook hands with the opposition he was straight over to me like he does every game, but this time he broke down sobbing and whispered in my ear ‘I love you mum and I am so proud of you’.

“I stood there in the pouring down rain with blurry eyes from the tears beaming with pride.

’Even though everyone tells me I should be proud of myself as a mum, I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am of him and his brothers after a painful few years and how well they have coped and carried themselves through all of the upset.

“It meant the absolute world to see just how much it meant to him and it felt even better knowing he was proud of me as much as I am beyond proud of him. 

“I know Declan is my son, but most importantly he is my best friend and protector with an absolute heart of gold and it makes me proud to see the young man he is turning into.”

With the video of Declan’s celebration going viral on social media, he wanted to pay particular thanks to his teammates and coach at Haresfinch for supporting him through his mum’s cancer battle.