Speedster Ollie ends the year on a high

OLLIE Sleightholme will not be among those glad to see the back of 2024 – a year in which he made his England debut, marked the birth of his daughter, Lyra, and won the Premiership with Northampton.

- PAUL REES

It was a welcome change in fortune for the 24-year old wing, the top try scorer in last season’s Premiership with 14. Sleightholme was first called into the England squad in 2021, but a succession of injuries delayed his Test start to the summer when he came off the bench against New Zealand in Dunedin.

He made five appearances for England this year, starting the final two matches against South Africa and Japan, and his total of four tries equals the haul of his father Jon, a wing with Bath and Northampton, who won 12 caps in the 1990s before Ollie was born.

“I was three when my dad retired,” said Sleightholme, who made his Saints debut against Bristol in the Premiership Cup in 2018 in a side that included George Furbank, Fraser Dingwall and Alex Mitchell who all played for England this year.

“I have seen bits of him in action on tape. The game has changed since then as he will admit and it is now very different, although some elements are the same such as the physicality. It has been one of the biggest years in my life, winning the Premiership, having a daughter and making my England debut, but I want to improve and keep moving on.”