Ollie Chessum: 'He's a lock for us.'

For some, Ollie Chessum being picked on England’s blindside for Saturday’s game against France was seen a ‘big red’ flag, for others it was further endorsement of the Leicester man’s ability to operate as a hybrid loose forward.

The reality is that only two of Chessum’s 24 England starts have been in the six jersey, while he has only played there twice for the Tigers in the past three seasons.

However, you can understand the logic behind the selection, which has seen England ditch their policy of picking three opensides in the back row.

At 6’7 tall, the 25-year-old gives England a much-needed lift, metaphorical and physical, in the lineout jumping stakes, an area where France have a multitude of options, while also potentially opening up more opportunities for some of his trademark carries around the pitch.

Geoff Parling has yet to select Chessum at blindside in a Tigers match but gets why Steve Borthwick would want to play him there.

“He’s a lock for us, but he’s a big body, a quality operator,” said the Tigers boss

“I think he’ll offer them some more go-forward in terms of his carry. And obviously he’s a really good set-piece operator as well. (The lineout), it’s something he certainly adds to.”

“I’m a big, big Chess fan.”

Both of Chessum’s previous starts at six in the 2024 Six Nations were close run things. England edged out Ireland 23-23 at Twickenham before losing to Thomas Ramos’ late penalty from the halfway line a week later in Lyon.

Chessum couldn’t take much of the credit or the blame for either. In truth, Chessum made little impact in both games, statistically anyway. He made a grand total of seven carries for 15 metres, 20 tackles with four missed, and claimed nine lineouts.