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

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

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 A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

academy as a teenager.

Rugby career

Hartley made his first-team debut for

in 2021, at the age of 19, playing against Newcastle Falcons in the pool stages of the

2021–22 Premiership Rugby Cup The 2021–22 Premiership Rugby Cup is the 49th season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the third under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format following the disbanding of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at the end of the 2017–18 seaso ...

. He then spent the majority of the year on loan with Ampthill in the RFU Championship, with four appearances and two tries for his parent club that year. 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. On 17 October 2022,

were placed into administration due to financial insolvency and immediately ceased trading, with all players and staff at the club made redundant. This meant that Hartley never featured in a Premiership match for the club. Just one month later, he signed an academy contract with

in November 2022, and his first appearance for his new team shortly followed, during a pool stage fixture against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

in the

2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup The 2022–23 Premiership Rugby Cup is the 50th season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the fourth under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format following the disbanding of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at the end of the 2017–18 s ...

. Shortly after turning 21 years old, Hartley made his Premiership debut for

on 25 February 2023, starting at inside centre in a home game against Newcastle Falcons. He earned plaudits for his performance and was voted as player of the match. Subsequently, Hartley was promoted into the Saracens senior squad ahead of the 2023–24 season. In February 2024 Hartley played for the England A side against Portugal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Olly 2002 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union centres Saracens F.C. players Wasps RFC players