Birth name | Oliver Harry Sleightholme | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 13 April 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Northampton, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 89 kg (196 lb; 14 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Northampton School for Boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Jon Sleightholme (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oliver Harry Sleightholme (born 13 April 2000 in Northampton, England) is an English professional rugby union footballer. He plays as a winger for Northampton Saints.[1] His father, Jon Sleightholme, was an England international.[2]
Sleightholme spent all his youth career at Northampton Old Scouts, where he played alongside future Saints teammate Connor Tupai.[3][1] He was a pupil at Northampton School for Boys,[4] and played in the school's team that made it to the semi-final of the 2018 NatWest Schools Cup, in which he scored a try in a 19–12 defeat by Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield.[5] He played for the England rugby sevens team at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas, and he scored a try in his team's loss to Samoa in the final.[6] He scored a try on his debut for England under-18s in a 42–14 win against Wales under-18s on 25 March 2018.[7]
Sleightholme signed a senior academy contract with Northampton Saints before the 2018–19 season.[8] He made his debut for Northampton in a Premiership Rugby Cup match against Bristol Bears on 27 October 2018.[9] And he made his Premiership debut three weeks later, scoring his first Northampton try 14 seconds after coming on as a second-half replacement against Wasps.[10][11] In only his second European Rugby Challenge Cup game, he scored four tries against Timișoara Saracens on 18 January 2019.[12]
Sleightholme was named in the England squad for the 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship,[13] and he made his debut in the opening game against Ireland.[10] He scored tries against both France and Italy to help England finish third in the competition.[1]
Sleightholme also played at the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship,[14] and he scored two tries as England lost to Ireland in the opening game.[15] He subsequently scored a try in England's final pool game against Australia,[16] with England eventually finishing the tournament in fifth place.[17]
Alan Dickens named Sleightholme in his 32-man England squad for the 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.[18]
He was called up to the senior England squad in September 2021 for a training camp. [19]
He later made his debut for the side in 2024 coming off of the bench in the narrow 16-15 loss to New Zealand [20]
Northampton Saints – current squad | |
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