Northampton confirm 7 more players leaving the club

Northampton Saints have confirmed the names of seven more players that are set to exit the club at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

Brandon Nansen, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, Ethan Grayson, Frankie Sleightholme, Callum Burns, Archie Kean, and Joseph Gaffan will all move on to pastures new this summer.

Collectively, the group has made just 47 appearances for Northampton Saints.

The club has already confirmed the departure of David Ribbans, Mike Haywood, Courtnall Skosan, Tom Collins, James Fish and Matt Proctor.

“The end of every season is always a difficult time for the squad, as naturally a number of players within the group move on – whether they are retiring from rugby, progressing into the next stage of their professional careers, or switching clubs in search of more opportunities to play consistently," said DoR Phil Dowson.

“This group of players have all made contributions to our group in their own individual ways, on and off the pitch, and we’ll wish them the very best moving forward.”

Brandon Nansen, a Samoan international who can play at lock or in the back row, joined Northampton Saints from Brive before the start of the 2021/22 campaign. Before his time at the Saints, he played for North Harbour in the Mitre10 Cup Championship, Super Rugby side the Blues, Top14 outfit Stade Français, and Welsh region the Dragons. Nansen made his Saints debut against Sale Sharks in the Gallagher Premiership in November 2021.

Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, a loosehead, originally worked his way through the Saints’ Academy system. After making four appearances for Northampton Saints, he moved to London Irish, where he played 50 times, helping the Exiles to promotion back to the Gallagher Premiership in 2019. Hobbs-Awoyemi returned to the Saints in the summer of 2020 and added ten more Saints caps to his tally in three seasons.

Ethan Grayson, the third Northampton Saint in his family, signed on full-time with the Senior Academy in the summer of 2020. A part of the Academy setup for all of his junior career, Grayson played at both fly-half and centre before settling into the midfield. Grayson made his first senior appearance in a Saints shirt during the 2021/22 season.

Frankie Sleightholme, the son of former Saint Jon and brother of current Saint Ollie, joined Northampton Saints’ Senior Academy on a full-time basis ahead of the 2022/23 season. Sleightholme was part of the Club’s Under-18s side which reached the final of Premiership Rugby’s Academy League during the 2021/22 campaign. Sleightholme became Saint #2049 with two Premiership Rugby Cup appearances off the bench in March 2022.

Callum Burns, who worked his way through Northampton Saints’ junior ranks, signed on full time to the Senior Academy during the summer of 2020. Burns was given his first taste of senior rugby in March 2022 when he made his Saints debut against Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership Rugby Cup at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens. He added another appearance in February 2023 against London Irish in the semi-finals of the Cup competition.

Archie Kean joined Northampton Saints’ Senior Academy on a full-time basis ahead of the 2022/23 season. He was part of the Club’s Under-18s side which reached the final of Premiership Rugby’s Academy League during the 2021/22 campaign. His Northampton debut came back in October against Saracens in the Premiership Rugby Cup, and he added one more appearance to his tally later that month.

Joseph Gaffan will also leave the Saints at the end of the 2022/23 season. The club has not provided any further details about his time at the club.