Sleightholme toasts landmark year with Saints and England

It has been a landmark year for Northampton Saints winger Ollie Sleightholme, who has been able to put together a stunning run of form for both Club and country.

Saints fans will have known about Sleightholme’s finishing ability for a long time now, going back to his startling try-scoring Gallagher Premiership debut against Wasps in November 2018.

Frustratingly for the 24-year-old, he was not always able to showcase this for prolonged periods and had to deal with several muscular injuries during his formative years, even though he largely remained prolific despite these.

Last season, however, he was finally able to go through a campaign injury-free and the results were there for all to see as he terrorised opposition defences during Saints’ attempt at Premiership glory.

Sleightholme eventually finished as the league’s top try-scorer, with the last of his 16 touchdowns coming in typically lethal fashion during the 25-21 victory over Bath that saw Saints crowned champions for a second time.

His form has led to international recognition and he continues to enjoy his rugby more than ever.

Sleightholme said: “I'm always loving it with this group. It was just a case of keeping myself fit and managing to get a long run on the pitch that wasn't interjected by injury.

“It was a really good year and one I'll look back on fondly. It's one of the longest periods I've not been injured, touch wood.

“We changed a lot of stuff in the gym to help and it's about managing my body better, learning what signals I got and when I needed to take it a bit easier or if I could just push through it.”

Sleightholme’s red-hot form in 2024, which included hat-tricks against Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester, was transferred late in the year from cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

After making his international debut for England during their summer tour of New Zealand, Sleightholme seized his opportunity during the Autumn Nations Series.

Following a brace against Australia, he went on to cross the whitewash against world champions South Africa and Japan to further enhance his reputation and quickly equal his dad Jon’s international tally of four tries.

Sleightholme said: “One of my big things is always just trying to back myself so it gives you confidence being able to do it on that stage.

“It was a big event for me and a dream to play for my country at Twickenham.”

If this has been a year of making memories for Sleightholme, this was only added to by signing a new contract with Northampton, followed up by Saints’ sensational 30-21 Investec Champions Cup victory against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

It was his first experience of playing at altitude in South Africa and the result capped off a trip none of the men in Black, Green and Gold will forget in a hurry.

“It was a really cool experience and it makes it all the sweeter going over there and getting the result,” Sleightholme said.

“There aren’t many teams that go there and win so to be one of those, we should be massively proud of that.

“It's up there [in terms of a team bonding trip]. Any time you go away and spend all your time with the team, it's always going to be beneficial for the squad and how you connect with each other.”

Saints’ return to English soil sadly came with a disappointing loss at Saracens, but Sleightholme is now focused on ending his annus mirabilis on a high in front of a bumper crowd against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday.

He said: “Games around Christmas are always good and we always get big crowds for them.

“Everyone's excited and happy because of Christmas, so we should see some good atmospheres and good performances.”