Olver: Give kids a chance or risk losing them
DEPARTED fly-half Sam Olver has warned Northampton that more of their potential young stars could leave if denied first team chances.
Olver, an U20s World Cup winner with England in 2014, has joined Worcester after featuring in just 14 matches for the Franklin’s Gardens outfit over four years.
The gifted playmaker helped Saints become A-League champions last season but insists he had no alternative but to leave in order to fulfil his career ambitions. Olver, 22, told TRP: “It pained me leaving because it was the club I’d grown up watching from a young age. My dad played there and it was the team I’d supported my whole life, but for my career to develop I had to move on.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn but the likes of me, Howard Packman and Jordan Onojaife – guys who’ve done well through the age groups – just weren’t getting enough opportunities.
“Me and Howard have now moved on to try to find that somewhere else and there are other boys now, like Jordan, Lewis Ludlam and Rory Hutchinson, in similar positions ready to step up, so I hope they get proper opportunities this season.”
Olver, right, added: “Professional sport is hard and clubs always try to better their squads, you expect that. I understand it’s hard to run an academy alongside the professional game, but the whole point of it is to get guys through into the first team.” Olver craves those opportunities at Worcester, where he remains confident the talent that still draws comparisons with England’s George Ford will flourish. “I’d be in the wrong job if I didn’t think I could do it,” he said. “I believe I can play at a high level and just need a good run of games to prove it.
“I had dribs and drabs in the A-League and AngloWelsh Cup but I never started a Premiership game for Northampton and as a fly-half you need the chance to take charge and really run a team.”
Olver added: “There’s competition here from Ryan Mills, Jamie Shillcock and Tom Heathcote, but I’m confident in my ability and it’s for me to convince Worcester’s coaches that I’m good enough to achieve the potential people saw in me at U20s level.”