England wing Ollie Sleightholme has committed his future to Northampton Saints, signing a contract extension with the club that will keep him around “for the foreseeable future.”
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27 Tries in 81 Games
Since bursting onto the scene, the 24-year-old has made his mark with a remarkable 27 tries in 81 appearances for Saints. Who could forget that moment in last season’s Premiership final? Sleightholme crossed the whitewash against Bath, helping Northampton clinch their first title in a decade.
Try-Scoring Machine for England
Fresh off making his England debut in New Zealand this summer, Sleightholme has been lighting up the international stage. The Autumn Internationals saw him bag a hat trick of tries—two against Australia and one in a thriller against South Africa last weekend.
@EnglandRugby score a scorcher!
What a way to open the scoring! Smith and Slade set up Sleightholme to open the English account!#AutumnNationsSeries | #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/5rgJYEgbGA
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 16, 2024
“Living the Dream”
Ollie Sleightholme expressed his pride in donning both his club and national jerseys:
“It’s the dream of every kid playing rugby to represent their local club, and to play for their country, and I feel very privileged to be able to do that,” he said.
Signing a new contract? It’s something Sleightholme doesn’t take for granted:
“Being in a position to sign another contract with the club is amazing, and continuing to play with a group of mates I’ve grown up alongside is something I never take for granted.”
Top Class Setup at Saints
With a father, Jon Sleightholme, who also wore the Northampton and England jerseys, rugby runs in the blood. Ollie joined the Saints at just 13, and it’s been a whirlwind journey ever since.
He made an explosive first-team debut in a cup game against Bristol in 2018. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, he scored after just 15 seconds of his Premiership debut against Wasps.
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Phil Dowson’s Praise
Director of Rugby Phil Dowson knows what a special talent he has in Sleightholme:
“Keeping that core group together and making sure we continue to push forwards and improve with them is something we’re always working on.”
Dowson added: “Ollie’s definitely one of those guys who has that out-and-out quality already, but he’s got the potential to keep getting better as well. His strike-rate is remarkable.”
The competition in Northampton’s backline is fierce, but Sleightholme’s consistency is making waves:
“It’s hard sometimes as a coach here, because everyone in that backline is playing so well and it’s extremely competitive. But Ollie’s consistency is clear to see from his stats and that’s starting to get recognised at international level too which we’re delighted about.”
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