| Birth name | Oliver Hartley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 February 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 104 kg (16 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Whitgift School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oliver Hartley (born 19 February 2002) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Saracens.
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]
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]
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]