| Birth name | Oliver Harry Sleightholme | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (2000-04-13)13 April 2000 (age 24) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Northampton, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft11+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) is an English professionalrugby union footballer who plays as awing forNorthampton Saints.[1] His father,Jon Sleightholme, was anEngland international.[2]
Sleightholme spent all his youth career at Northampton Old Scouts, where he played alongside future Saints teammateConnor Tupai.[1][3] He was a pupil atNorthampton School for Boys,[4] and played in the school's team that made it to the semi-final of the 2018NatWest Schools Cup, in which he scored a try in a 19–12 defeat byQueen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield.[5] Sleightholme played for the Englandrugby sevens team at the2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in theBahamas, and he scored a try in his team's loss to Samoa inthe final.[2][6] He scored a try on his debut forEngland 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 aPremiership Rugby Cup match againstBristol Bears on 27 October 2018.[9] And he made hisPremiership debut three weeks later, scoring his first Northampton try 14 seconds after coming on as a second-half replacement againstWasps.[10][11] In only his secondEPCR Challenge Cup game, he scored four tries againstTimișoara Saracens on 18 January 2019.[12]
Sleightholme scored a try in the2023–24 Premiership Rugby final as Northampton defeatedBath to become League champions.[13] At the end of that season in May 2024, having finished as top tryscorer in the Premiership, he was named in the Premiership Rugby Team of the Season for the 2023–24 campaign.[14]
Sleightholme was named in theEngland squad for the2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship,[15] and he made his debut at that level in the opening game againstIreland.[10] He scored tries against bothFrance andItaly to help England finish third in the competition.[1]
Sleightholme also played at the2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship and scored two tries as England lost to Ireland in their opening game.[16] He subsequently scored a try in England's final pool game againstAustralia,[17] with England eventually finishing the tournament in fifth place.[18] CoachAlan Dickens named Sleightholme in his England squad for the2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and he made one appearance during the tournament againstScotland.[19]
In September 2021 Sleightholme was called up to the senior England side for a training camp.[20] He was included in the squad for their2024 tour of New Zealand and on 6 July 2024 made his debut as a substitute in the opening Test defeat to theAll Blacks atForsyth Barr Stadium.[21][22]
In November 2024 Sleightholme scored his first tries at senior international level with a double in a loss againstAustralia during the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.[23] He also scored in their next game during a defeat againstSouth Africa.[24] Sleightholme went on to score his fourth try in five games in their last Autumn international fixture of 2024, a 59–14 win againstJapan.[25] This equalled the amount his father, Jon, had scored for England.[26]
In February 2025, he was called up to the senior training squad replacingCadan Murley for the2025 Six Nations. He was subsequently named in the starting lineup to make his tournament debut in the second round againstFrance.[27]
as of 24 November 2024[update].
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 November 2024 | Twickenham Stadium,London, England |  Australia | 23–28 | 37–42 | 2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals |
| 2 | 28–28 | |||||
| 3 | 16 November 2024 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England |  South Africa | 5–0 | 20–29 | 2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals |
| 4 | 24 November 2024 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England |  Japan | 33–7 | 59–14 | 2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals |