With a little more than three minutes left on the clock and England trailing by seven points in Auckland, the ball is tossed wide to Ollie Sleightholme. He advances towards halfway, ball in both hands, before the briefest of shimmies and a burst down the left that leaves Sevu Reece floundering like the proverbial kipper. Hook, line and sinker.
Ultimately England could not avoid a second defeat by the All Blacks but Sleightholme's cameo stood out as one of the brightest moments of the series, as someone taking their chance on a tour of missed opportunities. And it turns out Reece is not the first to take the bait, because Sleightholme is an avid angler.
The 24-year-old likes nothing more than to head to nearby Olney, or to the River Wye and cast his line. He might have finished last season as the Premiership's top try-scorer, helping the club to a first title in 10 years, but Sleightholme has bigger fish to fry.
We will leave the puns there but it is refreshing to hear a twentysomething sportsman talk so passionately about a hobby, something that helps with the lows that invariably accompany the highs - all the more so when Sleightholme was on the sidelines for nine months in 2023 with concussion and a hamstring problem.
This story is from the September 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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