Ollie Sleightholme Extends Contract with Northampton Saints

England international wing Ollie Sleightholme has formalized a contract extension with Northampton Saints, securing his presence at the club “for the foreseeable future.” This development follows his recent try for England against Australia. The 24-year-old player has accumulated a total of 27 tries across 81 appearances for the Saints. Among these scores was a try in the previous season’s Premiership final against Bath, a match that saw the club claim the title for the first time in a decade. His international career began with his England debut in New Zealand during the summer. He subsequently registered three tries in the Autumn Internationals, with two scored against Australia and one against South Africa last weekend. Sleightholme stated, “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 further added, “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.” Sleightholme also commented, “The coaches and staff we have at Saints are top class; they give players the freedom to focus on developing and keep getting better. It’s a very healthy environment to play and train in.” Sleightholme, whose father Jon also had a playing career with both Northampton and England, initially became part of his hometown club at the age of 13. His first-team debut occurred in a cup fixture against Bristol in October 2018. The subsequent month, he marked his Premiership debut against Wasps by scoring a try within just 15 seconds. Director of rugby Phil Dowson commented, “Keeping that core group together and making sure we continue to push forwards and improve with them is something we’re always working on. 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.” Dowson further added, “His strike-rate is remarkable, and 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.”