SLEIGHT OF FOOT

Northampton and England speedster OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME is making his mark on the international stage after a whirlwind 2024

- JOSH GRAHAM

GIVEN THAT his first taste of an England camp came under Eddie Jones in 2021, Saints flyer Ollie Sleightholme has had to wait patiently for a go at Test rugby.

Luckily for England fans, their man's favourite pastime means patience is not a problem. Sleightholme's uncle introduced him to fishing and now, pardon the pun, Ollie is hooked.

"I try to get away from rugby, so I go once or twice a week if I can," says Sleightholme. "I don't actually mind if I don't catch anything, it's more just being able to reset myself after a long week or if it's midweek, just take myself away. I was using it when I was injured and trying to rehab and stuff, just something else to focus on and be able to get away from it all.

"I've got a bug for it so any free time I've got, I'll go fishing. All weather, no matter what it's like. My missus thinks I'm a bit weird. Sometimes it'll be lashing it down and I'll say: 'I'm going out.' It's just getting out and refocusing."

You can find Sleightholme by the bank in Olney or casting his line into the River Wye. Coarse fishing - angling for all freshwater fish bar game like trout and salmon - is his preferred method.

The biggest fish Sleightholme has ever reeled in came last summer with his uncle, a 10lb barbel. Quite the catch.

Things got a bit more exotic when he was selected for England's summer tour of Japan and New Zealand and his hobby came in handy on a day off in Auckland. "We went fishing in New Zealand," explains Sleightholme. "We caught a load of red snapper and then the chef cooked them all for us for lunch. It was a really good experience."

While that was undoubtedly a highlight for our keen fisherman, it's hard to look beyond winning his first cap after coming off the bench in Dunedin.