Beginning his rugby career as a six-year-old at Northampton Old Scouts, Ollie Sleightholme signed on with the Senior Academy at Northampton Saints ahead of the 2018/19 season after being a part of the set-up at Saints from the age of 13.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Saints legend Jon, the fast-footed winger had impressed for Saints' Under-18s, Premiership Rugby 7s side and in the 2018 Mobbs Memorial Match before earning a full-time contract.
The winger made his first-team debut against Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby Cup before taking just 15 seconds to score his first Northampton try on his Premiership debut against Wasps, and finishing his debut season with seven tries in as many appearances for the Club as Saints reached the knock-out stages of every senior competition and lift the Premiership Rugby Cup.
Sleightholme made ten appearances for Saints the following term, adding another three tries to his tally along the way, before playing his most rugby in a season to date during 2020/21 – crossing the whitewash an impressive nine times in 12 games, including an historic quad of tries against Worcester Warriors in the Gallagher Premiership.
The winger has also earned international honours, claiming a silver medal with England in Rugby Sevens during the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
Named amongst the England Under-18s squad in February 2018, the prolific try-scorer crossed the whitewash on his international debut against Wales a month later. And Sleightholme made the jump to England Under-20s in 2019, featuring in the Six Nations – scoring tries against both France and Italy – before travelling to Argentina for the World Rugby U20 Championship where he twice crossed the whitewash in the Red Rose’s opening fixture with Ireland. Sleightholme would have his first taste of senior international action as he was called into Eddie Jones' squad for a summer training camp in 2021, though injury stopped the winger from earning a first cap in that campaign.
