Olly Hartley

Olly Hartley
Birth nameOliver Hartley
Date of birth (2002-02-19) 19 February 2002 (age 22)
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
SchoolWhitgift School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Current team Saracens
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
– Hammersmith & Fulham – (–)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2021–22 Wasps 4 (15)
2021–22 →Ampthill 11 (10)
2022– Saracens 29 (50)
2023– →Ampthill 4 (10)
Correct as of 6 December 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2024– England A 1 (0)
Correct as of 6 December 2024

Oliver Hartley (born 19 February 2002) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Saracens.

Early life

Hartley began playing rugby union at the age of five, following in the footsteps of his father Gary – a former trialist with the England national team – when he joined Hammersmith & Fulham RFC. He continued his rugby education whilst a student at Whitgift School in Croydon, prior to joining the Wasps academy as a teenager.[1]

Club career

Hartley made his first-team debut for Wasps in 2021, at the age of 19, playing against Newcastle Falcons in the pool stages of the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby Cup.[2] He then spent the majority of the year on loan with Ampthill in the RFU Championship, making four appearances and scoring two tries for his parent club that year.[3] On 17 February 2022, two days before his 20th birthday, it was announced that Hartley had signed a long-term deal with Wasps, graduating into the senior squad for the 2022–23 Premiership season.[4]

On 17 October 2022, Wasps were placed into administration due to financial insolvency and immediately ceased trading, with all players and staff at the club made redundant.[5] This meant that Hartley never featured in a Premiership match for the club. One month later, he signed an academy contract with Saracens in November 2022, and his first appearance for them soon followed, during a pool stage fixture against Leicester Tigers in the 2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup.[6]

Hartley made his Premiership debut for Saracens on 25 February 2023, starting at inside centre in a home game against Newcastle Falcons.[7] He earned plaudits for his performance and was voted as player of the match.[8]

Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Hartley was promoted into the Saracens senior squad, while also dual-registered with Championship club Ampthill. He subsequently made his European Rugby Champions Cup debut in December 2023, as a substitute against the Bulls, then earned his first start in the competition a week later, scoring two tries in a win over Connacht.[9] In total, Hartley made 20 first-team appearances for Saracens across all competitions, before suffering a serious season-ending knee injury at the end of a Premiership match against Gloucester in April 2024.[10] Despite sustaining a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, a torn meniscus, a ruptured medial collateral ligament and a torn posterior cruciate ligament, he returned to action for Saracens just seven months later, during the 2024–25 Premiership Rugby Cup.[11]

International career

In February 2024, Hartley received his first call-up for international rugby, when he was included in the England A squad to face Portugal.[12] He featured as a second-half replacement, helping England A to achieve a 91–5 victory.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Young Guns: Olly Hartley". The Rugby Paper. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Olly HARTLEY - Player statistics". It's Rugby. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. ^ Bridge, Bobby (12 July 2022). "Five young Wasps players to watch out for in new season". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Olly Hartley: Wasps teenager signs 'long-term' deal with the Premiership club". BBC Sport. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Wasps: Gallagher Premiership club placed into administration; 167 players, staff made redundant". Sky Sports. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Olly HARTLEY:profile and stats". All Rugby. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  7. ^ "MATCH REPORT: Saracens Men 29-23 Newcastle Falcons". Saracens. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  8. ^ Cotton, Matt (1 March 2023). "Saracens' new star, Exeter aim to banish demons and Marcus Smith returns". The Times. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  9. ^ Mackenzie, Alasdair (16 December 2023). "'Big future ahead of him' - Lawrence Dallaglio impressed by Saracens youngster Olly Hartley after two-try showing". TNT Sports. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Saracens' Hartley out with significant knee injury". BBC Sport. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Comeback: Hartley's rapid recovery before derby". Premiership Rugby. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  12. ^ "England A side selected to play Portugal". England Rugby. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  13. ^ "England A 91-5 Portugal: Cadan Murley scores hat-trick as hosts register 15 tries". BBC Sport. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.