Sleightholme named Premiership Rugby Player of the Month for March

Northampton Saints winger Ollie Sleightholme has been voted as March’s Gallagher Player of the Month.

The 24-year-old won 57% of the vote in the public poll and beat Bristol Bears duo Harry Randall and Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Sale Sharks wing Tom Roebuck to the award.

Sleightholme scored three tries in two Gallagher Premiership matches in March, including one of the individual tries of the season in defeat to Bristol, which he followed up with a stunning brace against reigning Gallagher Premiership Rugby champions Saracens.

Also nominated for the Club’s cinch Player of the Month, Sleightholme becomes the fifth recipient of the Gallagher Player of the Month award for the 2023/24 season, and the third successive winner from Northampton after Fin Smith and Courtney Lawes collected the January and December gongs respectively.

The winger joins a long list of Saints to collect the league award, with Smith (January 2024), Lawes (December 2023 and September 2017), Fraser Dingwall (February 2023), Alex Mitchell (November 2021), Lewis Ludlam (May 2020), Rory Hutchinson (February 2019), Cobus Reinach (November 2018), Teimana Harrison (April 2016), Dylan Hartley (January 2014) and Samu Manoa (December 2014 and October 2013) also winning the gong.

Georgia Price-Hunt, Head of Sales, Global Cyber Risk Management at Gallagher, said: “I’m delighted to present this trophy to Ollie who has played brilliantly so far during the Gallagher Premiership. 

“Ollie has made some great plays on the pitch including his most recent feat against Saracens, there’s no doubt that he has played an integral role in the success of Northampton Saints so far.”

The shortlist was voted for by a panel of media professionals.

The judges for the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership Rugby season are: Ali Eykyn (TNT Sports), Ugo Monye (BBC, TNT Sports), Jill Douglas (ITV, BBC), Ashleigh Wilmot (Eurosport, TNT Sports), Rugby Inside Line, Alex Lowe (The Times), Hugh Godwin (i), Nick Mullins (TNT Sports) and Chris Jones (BBC).