LONG READ Ollie Hassell-Collins: ‘I’ve still got my sights set on England but I don’t want to force it’

Ollie Hassell-Collins is a glass-half-full kind of guy. He has a naturally upbeat outlook but, peering at the England squad from the outside, nose pressed against the glass, must be frustrating.

Hassell-Collins won two international caps in 2023 but once you are out, it is an increasingly tough job, as a wing, to break back in.

Even finishing as the Premiership’s leading try-scorer, as the 26-year-old did for Leicester last season, brings with it no guarantees.

England have a Lions wing in Tommy Freeman at their disposal. They also have Manny Feyi-Waboso, Tom Roebuck and Henry Arundell in their squad who have all gone well when they have been given their opportunities this autumn. Then there is Noah Caluori emerging out of nowhere.

All someone like Hassell-Collins can do is keep on flashing his headlights. Which he did with a flawless performance in England A colours against New Zealand’s second string at the weekend.

But the traffic jam in front of him remains.

“Playing for England is still a goal of mine, 100 per cent,” said Hassell-Collins.

I’ve just got to go back to Leicester, keep playing well there, scoring tries and doing my thing and whatever happens, happens.

“I’ve enjoyed England A. I know it’s not the exact replica of an England camp but it’s pretty close to it. Change of environment, change of personnel, new connections, new faces – it’s always good fun getting to know people and learning how different coaches see the game.

“I’ve definitely got my sights set on England still but I don’t want to force it too much. I’ve just got to go back to Leicester, keep playing well there, scoring tries and doing my thing and whatever happens, happens.”

Given the extreme competition, Hassell-Collins could have done with a few more tries this season to push his case. It has been, he accepts, a “quiet” start on that front with just one in the league so far.

He was overshadowed in the build-up to the autumn internationals as an England wing cause celebre by club-mate Adam Radwan. In the end, neither made it.

It was instructive though that Hassell-Collins was picked ahead of Radwan against the Kiwis.

Radwan replaced him after an hour at The Rec because of injury but only after Hassell-Collins had given a high-ball masterclass that eclipsed even Caluori.

Hassell-Collins has benefited this season from the emphasis placed on aerial combat by Geoff Parling since his arrival at Welford Road in the summer. Having worked in Australia for eight years, the Leicester head coach has been transplanting AFL-style overhead catching techniques for the back-three players at the club.

Hassell-Collins picked off New Zealand’s contestable kicks – an area which has become ever more important since the move to outlaw the blocking of chasers – with elongated ease.

I don’t know if it’s possible but I feel like even Freddie Steward has got even better in the air.

This, maybe, is his glimmer of hope when it comes to full England recognition, since it is the same super-strength that elevated Roebuck and, fleetingly, Caluori, to the senior squad.

“We spend a lot of time doing the high-ball stuff, catching the ball above your head. It’s such a skill now and we are seeing more and more people doing it,” he said.

“It’s completely different timing so it’s hard at first but once you get it you are going to win more often than not in the air so it’s such a good skill to have.

“It has always been a strength of ours, particularly on attacking kicks and getting the ball back, but there has been a real big emphasis on it and it has definitely paid off.

“I don’t know if it’s possible but I feel like even Freddie Steward has got even better in the air.”

It is an increasingly important part of the selection conversation as teams go to the air more often to try to create broken-field situations.

Of course, speed will never go out of fashion for wings. Arundell’s searing acceleration for his try against Fiji was a reminder of the difference it can make.

That is Radwan’s calling card. Hassell-Collins freely admits that when it comes to straight-line pace, his Tigers partner in crime has the edge over him.

“I’ve got to give it to him – his wheels are ridiculous,” said Hassell-Collins. “It’s his X-factor.”

I’m a bit more of a physical wing. I think we complement each other well at Leicester with two very different threats on either side.

Hassell-Collins, though, is no slouch and at 6ft 4in and 16st 7lbs, packs more of a punch.

“I’m a bit more of a physical wing,” he said. “I think we complement each other well at Leicester with two very different threats on either side.”

Now in his third season at Welford Road since moving from London Irish, Hassell-Collins has put down roots in the East Midlands.

He and his fiancée Eloise got engaged at the beginning of the year after he popped the question in the Morocco desert.

“We’re going to get married in 2027. Eloise wanted a bit of time to organise everything. We’re looking to do the stag and hen do next year so we’re spreading out what we’ve got to look forward to,” he explained.

His wife-to-be is not a massive rugby fan although she did grow up in a rugby household.

“Her dad played with my dad at Newbury which was a pretty weird coincidence. My dad recognised her dad’s name when she mentioned it and someone found a picture of them both in the same team photo.”

The wider Tigers family has proved a welcoming one for Hassell-Collins. A popular member of the dressing room, with his chilled-out demeanour, he feels at home there. He is past his half-century of appearances for the club.

A Premiership final appearance last season has whet his appetite for another one this time around. If most judges would have thought that a long shot before the start of the campaign, given the loss of so many experienced players in the summer, there may have been some collective reappraisal since.

The Tigers are the only team to have beaten champions Bath and followed it up with a win over last season’s semi-finalists Sale.

It helps to have friends in high places. Steve Borthwick was the coach who signed Hassell-Collins for Leicester in the first place, so he clearly rates him.

“We can look back to a couple of games that we were a bit disappointed with where we felt there was a lot left in us, but I think overall it has been a good start to the season,” said Hassell-Collins.

The spin-off of playing for a successful club is that it can provide a leg-up towards international rugby. Will Muir, another effective wing in the air, made his Test debut in Argentina last summer on the back of Bath’s treble.

It also helps to have friends in high places. Steve Borthwick was the coach who signed Hassell-Collins for Leicester in the first place, so he clearly rates him.

Maybe all hope is not lost – but the harsh fact remains that however well he plays for the A team there is no room at the inn.

England’s current abundance on the wing is verging on the greedy.