Ollie believes home grown lads can bring Saints success
FLYING Northampton wing Ollie Sleightholme has the Premiership playoffs in his sights as he aims to put a nightmare year behind him.
Sleightholme, below, the son of former Saints great Jon, shot to prominence in 2019 before a cruel series of injuries sidelined him for a year.
After returning at Wasps last week, Sleightholme, 20, told The Rugby Paper: “It was my first game back so I was really happy about that.
“Twelve months ago, I tore my hamstring and retore it twice. Then, just before my intended return, I had a syndesmosis injury and fractured a fibula in my ankle.
“Mentally it has been difficult but a lot of it has been about making myself do as much as I possibly could to get back as quickly as I could and stay positive.
“It’s rugby, you’re going to get injuries and that’s just part of the game, so keeping that positive head space helped a lot and I’ve had brilliant support.”
While repeat hamstring injuries are a nightmare for sprinters, England’s Jonny May overcame similar setbacks earlier in his career to become one of the world’s best.
Sleightholme added: “It’s a positional thing more than anything and, as a winger, I’m always aware that if the hammy is a little bit tight I probably need to ease off a bit.
“But the work of the guys and the rehab stuff we do at Saints always allows players to come back stronger from injuries so I’ve got no long-term worries.”
After bouncing back from a shocking end to 2020, Saints went into this weekend in fifth place after successive wins over Worcester, Gloucester and Wasps.
Sleightholme insists there was no panic, explaining: “We went through a tough spell before New Year but knew we could improve and were never far away. “A few things started to click and we probably should have won down at Bristol, but we were always positive and that’s been evident in what we’ve done since then.
“Chris Boyd has stayed calm and collected, pushing us in the right direction, and we’re now playing the game we want to play which is translating into results.”
With around 50 per cent of the Saints squad genuinely homegrown, including two more sons of famous fathers in James Grayson (Paul) and Harry Mallinder (Jim), could another title challenge materialise for a club that claimed the big prize in 2014? “Definitely,” says Sleightholme, without hesitation. “We’ve got the ability and we’re coming off good form, so it’s about keeping our foot on the floor now.
“The fact we’ve got so many homegrown lads in the side shows the hard work that goes into our academy from all the coaches and those who work in it. “It also gives you that foundation for your team when you’ve grown up with lads, and it’s still a very young squad with other young guys coming through.”