By BBC (Sports) | Created at 2024-11-19 09:45:25 | Updated at 2024-11-19 11:30:57
1 hour ago
England wing Ollie Sleightholme has signed a contract extension with Northampton Saints, tying him to the club "for the foreseeable future".
The 24-year-old has scored 27 tries in 81 appearances for Saints, including one in last season's Premiership final against Bath when they won the title for the first time in 10 years.
He made his England debut in New Zealand this summer and scored three tries in the Autumn Internationals, two against Australia and one against South Africa last weekend.
"It’s the dream of every kid playing rugby to represent their local club, and to play for their country, and I feel very privileged to be able to do that," he said.
"Being in a position to sign another contract with the club is amazing, and continuing to play with a group of mates I’ve grown up alongside is something I never take for granted.
"The coaches and staff we have at Saints are top class; they give players the freedom to focus on developing and keep getting better. It’s a very healthy environment to play and train in."
Sleightholme, whose father Jon also played for Northampton and England, first joined his hometown club at the age of 13.
He made his first-team debut in a cup game against Bristol in October 2018 and scored a try after only 15 seconds on his Premiership debut against Wasps the following month.
"Keeping that core group together and making sure we continue to push forwards and improve with them is something we’re always working on," said director of rugby Phil Dowson.
"Ollie’s definitely one of those guys who has that out-and-out quality already, but he’s got the potential to keep getting better as well.
"His strike-rate is remarkable, and it’s hard sometimes as a coach here, because everyone in that backline is playing so well and it’s extremely competitive.
"But Ollie’s consistency is clear to see from his stats and that’s starting to get recognised at international level too which we’re delighted about."
