Young Gun: Sam Olver – Northampton fly-half

Labelled a ‘softie in the backs’ by his dad, a former England hooker, Northampton Saints fly-half Sam Olver is already plotting his revenge – eclipsing his old man’s three international caps.
And for Olver Jnr the early signs are good. He’s been a regular in the Northampton Wanderers side and started last Monday’s A-League final at fly-half which ended in a narrow defeat to Bath United, while  he emerged off the bench in both of Saints’ LV= Cup victories last month.
He’s graduated to the England U20 squad this season, having been part of the U18 side that toured South Africa over the summer and, as the son of Saints stalwart John, who in 1993 captained England in Canada in the absence of the Red Rose’s Lions, he has long since been on the radar at Northampton.
“This season has been a bit of a breakthrough for me. I’ve got some good experience in the LV= Cup and the Aviva A League,” said Olver, 19.
“I’ve found that playing for the first team is a massive step up physically and fitness wise compared with the Wanderers but in some ways it’s easier because you have got better players around you who guide you through the game.
“I’m hugely proud to be playing for the same club my dad did. He has helped me massively throughout my career.
“I think he’s glad that I haven’t followed in his footsteps and instead stayed in the backs but he still gives me stick saying I’m a bit of a softie.
“The England U18s tour to South Africa was a really good experience. Unfortunately we lost to the Springboks in the first Test but we learned a lot from it and got good results against Wales and France.
“Playing for the full England team is definitely the long-term ambition.
“One of the aims is to get more than the three caps my dad got. We’ve got a bit of a joke going on about that!”
Oliver is hopeful that he has not seen the last of the Saints first-team this season.
“Stephen Myler and Glenn Dickson have been a great help to me. Throughout training they give me little pointers on how to improve,” he added.
“During pre-season all the first team lads help you settle in and make you feel at home so the club has a really nice environment.
“I hope I’ve done enough in the games I’ve played in the first-team that if injuries arise I would be considered as a replacement.
“Of course you never want to wish an injury on someone but if it did then hopefully the coaches would put me into consideration.
“The A-league this season has been really good. We got to the final and it was just a shame about the result.
“Some you win, some you lose and everyone gave it their all, we just couldn’t quite come out on top.
“We’ll all learn from the experience, particularly given we were playing against internationals like Gavin Henson and Nick Abendanon.”