Ollie Chessum's return to England Rugby
Leicester Tigers lock Ollie Chessum has returned to England's 2025 Guinness Six Nations squad after an 11-month lay-off.
The last time Ollie Chessum ran out in a home international for England was back in March 2024 and it was a day he’ll never forget. No‑one who was here will.
The Leicester forward could be forgiven if he wanted to wipe the next 11 months from his memory and hopefully this weekend's match against France will be another step in doing just that.
That spring day last year will be remembered for the electric atmosphere as Marcus Smith’s drop goal secured a 23-22 win for the hosts over Ireland and had the stands rocking like they did when England beat the All Blacks in 2012. It will also be remembered for the way Steve Borthwick’s side took the game to the Irish, who were chasing a second straight Grand Slam, and won.
Days like that were something Chessum dreamed of when he was a youngster, watching in the stands, but with another Six Nations underway he knows it is not something you can live on forever.
“I haven’t played in a Twickenham like that before,” says Chessum, still just 24. “It was unbelievable. The nature of the game helped, how tightly contested it was, it was an amazing day and one that will live in the memory for a long time. But it’s not something that you can hold on to for too long. The nature of the Six Nations is that there is another one the next year and you have to back it up. But that was an unbelievable day, and it felt like a turning point for the team.”
What is also scarcely believable is the run of bad luck which Chessum encountered thereafter which saw him miss the summer tour to Japan and New Zealand and all four November internationals at Allianz Stadium.
Firstly, a shoulder injury, and surgery, meant he had to sit out the three away Tests in June and July, in Tokyo, Dunedin and Auckland but even worse was to follow.
Fully recovered and primed for the autumn action, Chessum suffered a knee injury in a freak training ground incident at pre-campaign camp in Girona in October. That meant another lay-off. However, 54 minutes for Leicester in their Champions Cup match against Toulouse last month was enough to convince Borthwick to bring Chessum straight into his Six Nations squad.
Although Chessum, who can play lock or back row, might have enjoyed watching from the stands as a youngster, being a spectator when you could be out on the grass is not the same thing. It is safe to say he is buzzing to be back.
“I am not a particularly good spectator when I am injured,” he adds. “The autumn was particularly hard because of the nature of the way I missed out. I was in camp, training well and it can be hard watching knowing that you could have been there.
“You hear boys when they retire and they say ‘I can watch as a fan now’ but when you are still in the mix and in contention you watch it with a rugby brain and it can be hard to detach. You feel so in it, and you know what work the boys have done in the week to get there and how they would be feeling as a group. You feel everything with them, but you can’t be there to do anything.”
Being a bystander fuelled Chessum in his rehab to get back better than he was before and impressed Michael Cheika, his head coach at Leicester, who admired the way the forward knuckled down.
“Straight after he got injured, I gave him a bell, as they were in Spain,” reveals Cheika. “I knew he was disappointed as he had an injury before, but those things are challenges sent to us. He said ‘good, here’s an opportunity for me to conquer this situation, and I’ll come back better for it’.
“He had that attitude straight away. He loves the game and is taking more of a leadership role without a doubt. It suits him and the type of character he is. That helped him be motivated to get back as soon as possible.”
That sort of character is what will be needed when the French come to town this weekend with their star-studded lineup. Cheika knows a thing or two about character, having coached all around the world, including stints at Test level with Australia and Argentina, and he is impressed by what he has seen of Chessum in his brief spell at Tigers. They breed their forwards tough in the East Midlands and the 6ft 7in Chessum is another off the production line that has produced some of the finest to represent England.
“He has that dog in him,” adds Cheika. “When guys have that in them, they are hungry, they want to win everything they can. They want to win every contest on the field, and you see that in him. He is very physical and, when the big moments come, he wants to be involved and that is a really good sign for a player.”
There will be plenty of big moments on Saturday, against one of the top teams in the world, but one of the biggest for Chessum will be jogging out of the tunnel ahead of kick-off after such a frustrating time away.
“I have been chomping at the bit to get back here,” he admits. “I went to an England Ireland game when I was young and you stand at Twickenham, and you want to be on the pitch, then six or seven years later I’m out there playing. It is quite surreal. Having watched it growing up you understand the enormity of the occasions, playing against all the other nations those are the fixtures that are steeped in history and rivalry. Being a player, your family are so emotionally connected to it all, it makes it extra special.
“You never enter a competition not believing you can win or not wanting to win, or what is the point of being there? This Six Nations we want to win – that is the bottom line. We know how tough it is going to be, but we are looking forward to it.”
