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 Chessum in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Oliver Andrew Chessum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (2000-09-06)6 September 2000 (age 25) Boston, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 119 kg (262 lb; 18 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Carre's Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Lewis Chessum (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oliver Andrew Chessum (born 6 September 2000) is an English professionalrugby union player who plays as alock forPremiership Rugby clubLeicester Tigers and theEngland national team.[1][2]
Born to Paddy Chessum and Michelle Chessum, Ollie Chessum is the eldest of 3 children. Chessum’s younger brotherLewis also plays for Leicester Tigers and England’s U20s. During theCOVID-19 pandemic Chessum worked as a welder in the family business.[3]
Chessum began playing rugby atCarre's Grammar School inSleaford at the age of 13, before playing club rugby for Sleaford, Newark and Kesteven.[4] He was a member ofLeicester Tigers "developing player programme" at 15 but gave up for a year as he found it unenjoyable.[3] A year later he joined Kesteven RFC on the recommendation of his cousin and was selected as captain for England Counties Under-18s.[3] He took part in a 6-week trial back at Leicester, but was injured in the second week and not offered a contract, instead he joinedNottingham.[3]
Chessum joinedNottingham straight from school at 18 and impressed at the club making 11 appearances.[5] In January 2020, Chessum featured for Leicester in a reserve team game,[3] and then went on to joinLeicester Tigers in the summer of 2020.[6] He made his Leicester debut atKingsholm againstGloucester on 30 August 2020.[7]
On 20 November 2021, he was named as theLeicester Mercury'sman of the match for his performance in a 55-7Premiership Rugby Cup win againstWasps.[8] Chessum started the2021-22 Premiership Rugby final, and claimed a crucial loose ball to set up possession beforeFreddie Burns' 80th minute drop goal which sealed a 15-12 win for Leicester.[9]
Chessum played in 14 from 17 games at the start of the 2021-22 season and his form saw him called up for theEngland squad for the2022 Six Nations Championship on 18 January 2022, England coachEddie Jones compared Chessum toCourtney Lawes, highlighting his lineout skills and his ball-carrying abilities.[10] On 13 February 2022, Chessum made his England debut as a replacement in a 33-0 win over Italy in Rome.
Chessum played the first four games for the England in the2023 Six Nations Championship, before dislocating his ankle in training ground accident in March 2023.[11] On 7 August 2023, Chessum was named in England's squad for the2023 Rugby World Cup.[12] Chessum played in every game at the tournament as England finished 3rd, losing in the semi finals againstSouth Africa but beatingArgentina in the bronze medal match. Chessum returned to Leicester and featured in 13 games for the Tigers, he also played 5 times for England in the2024 Six Nations Championship. He missed the final two matches of the2023-24 Premiership Rugby season and England's summer tour to New Zealand to undergo a scheduled shoulder operation,[3] after compressing his rehab for his ankle injury a decision was taken to not rush the rehab for the shoulder injury too.[3]
Chessum captained Leicester for the first time on 21 September, in a 17-14 win away toExeter Chiefs in the opening game of the2024-25 Premiership Rugby season. In October 2024, Chessum was one of the first 17 players to sign a new "Enhanced Elite Player Squad" contract with theRFU.[13]
In February 2025, he made his first appearance in the England starting lineup for over a year, replacingGeorge Martin in the2025 Six Nations fixture againstScotland.[14]
In May 2025, he was selected for the2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia as Lion #875[15] He played in all 3 tests. He was selected as a replacement for the first test in Brisbane, and third test in Sydney.[16] He was selected to start the second test in Melbourne, to wear the number 5 shirt, where the Lions sealed the series victory.[17]
On 23 September 2025, Leicester Tigers announced that Chessum would become club captain for the2025-26 season, withJack van Poortvliet andHanro Liebenberg named as vice-captains.[18]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 February 2023 | Twickenham Stadium,London, England |  Italy | 12–0 | 31–14 | 2023 Six Nations Championship |
| 2 | 7 October 2023 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy,Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France |  Samoa | 5–0 | 18–17 | 2023 Rugby World Cup |
as of 7 October 2023[update][19]
