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| 18 December 2003, 9:53 am |
| Farewell To Sleights |
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Northampton Saints wing Jon Sleightholme will retire from professional rugby on December 31, 2003.
The former England, Bath Rugby and Wakefield player joined the club in 1997. He made 85 appearances and scored 22 tries following his debut against Gloucester at Franklin's Gardens.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Jon has also been fulfilling a dual role at the club as its sponsorship manager, as well as training and playing alongside the professional squad.
Northampton Saints operations director John Steele said: "Jon has been a loyal and committed Saint, and both Jon and his wife Julie have contributed hugely to club life and we wish them all the best of luck."
Jon will begin a job with the Cauldwell Group, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the New Year. Jon and his family - including Northampton-born sons Oliver and Frankie - intend to remain living in the town. He will also remain registered with the club so Saints could call on him in an emergency.
He said: "This was a difficult decision to make, particularly during the middle of the season. However, I have a reached a time in my career when I could not afford to turn down an opportunity like this one."
Jon added: "I have had a wonderful career spanning 13 seasons and I will take away lifelong memories and friends from Wakefield, Bath and, primarily, Saints.
"The support I have had from the players, management and fans during the last six years at Saints has been second to none in my career, which has made the decision to retire even harder.
"But I fought back from injury two years ago to give myself the opportunity to be able to sign off my career in the way that I wanted. I wanted it to be my decision to retire rather that a decision that was forced upon me through injury." |
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