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Getting to know: England U20s captain Lewis Chessum

(Photo by Liam Heagney)

Lewis Chessum was a prime reason why England came away from Paarl last Saturday with an impressive 34-all draw versus Ireland in an opening-round pool match at the Junior World Championship.

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The lock led from the front in South Africa as the English U20s skipper, setting the tone physically to enable his team to reel in the 12-point gap that existed between the two countries from 14 weeks ago in Cork when they met in the final round of the age-grade Six Nations.

He also exhibited great dexterity for someone so, so tall. For instance, the 6ft 9in giant turned sweetly at one stage near the end of the first half on his own try line to win a diving touch down race to deny Ireland a try after Sam Prendergast had threaded a cheeky kick in behind.

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RugbyPass caught up with Chessum at the England team hotel in downtown Cape Town for a two-pronged interview.

The main part of that insightful 30-minute chat will be published soon, a conversation where he revealingly spoke about his emergence at Leicester in the Steve Borthwick era.

In the meantime, here are his answers to the quickfire section, entertaining responses that highlighted his respect for the Youngs brothers at Tigers, why university isn’t a consideration, his favourite cheesy Taylor Swift tune, and his dream of playing alongside older brother Ollie:

THE BASICS
Born: February 27, 2003;
Joined England age-grade: It would be U20s for games, U18s was hit by covid but I played a North-South fixture;
Club: Leicester (senior development contract);
Position: Lock;
Boots: I’m wearing adidas Predator at the moment but the pair I am wearing, they stopped making them a couple of years ago, so I had to buy off a website;
Gumshield: Opro, standard;
Headgear: No, I just stopped. I used to wear an N-Pro but then I stopped and I just feel a little freer now. I can hear better. I don’t know, I feel it is one less thing I have got to worry about;
School: I went to Carre’s Grammar school in Sleaford and then when I got to 16, I moved to Brooksby College to join a programme with Leicester.

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RATE YOURSELF (out of 100)
Pace: I ain’t slow but I’m not quick at all. Let’s go 60. I can get above third gear, that’s about it;
Passing: I’d say I have got decent hands. I’m no No10 but I’ll go 60 again;
Tackling: Probably about 60 again. It’s the height. I struggle to get down sometimes.

THE PAST
My favourite England player of all time is… Tom Youngs.

Favourite try I have ever scored is… Leicester versus Sale in the Premiership Cup.

A rugby memory that makes me smile is… This is a watching memory. Leicester beat Munster in 2016 in a European game at Welford Road. It was one of the first games that I had been to. Owen Williams was playing at 10 and he slotted a 40-metre penalty to win us the game.

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One piece of advice I would give to my younger self is… I guess don’t worry. Everything will work out the way it should do in the end. I spent a lot of time worrying about stuff I didn’t need to worry about.

My best subject in school was… I was good at design technology, like woodwork.

The first player who made me fall in love with rugby is… Again, I’d say the Youngs brothers, Tom and Ben. I have always been a massive Leicester fan and they were the two brothers a bit similar to me and my brother now. I guess they were some of the big games at the club at the time, local from us, not too far. They are from Norfolk and we’re Lincolnshire, so they are not a million miles away.

Growing up, my position was… I was always a second row. Often got chucked in the back row when I was a little bit younger but yeah, I’ve always been a second row.

The coach who has most impacted my game is… From a younger point of view, Colin Owen. He was my first club coach and then my first PE teacher who helped me into rugby was Ben Pickard. Then as I have pushed through at Leicester, when I was 16 and 17 going into the academy, it would be Tom Harrison and Greg Mannion and at Brooksby, the college I was at. They pushed me through, and then obviously Steve last year at Leicester before he left. He had a massive impact on my game being a second row and lineout caller.

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THE PRESENT
My favourite rising rugby player is… It’s hard because I am rising too. I’ll have to pick one of these (England U20s) boys. Joe Woodward. He is a year younger than me and I have watched him at Brooksby and he has come through the academy with me. He is exciting. The kid can play rugby.

My best attributes on the field are… My lineout work. I quite enjoy a lineout and a maul. I’d say I am a good leader. They would be my best attributes.

One thing I’m doing to improve my education is… Not an awful lot. I am going into a coaching course next season. I want to get into coaching post-career.

My favourite current England player is… Ollie Chessum. If I answered it any other than that I would get in trouble when I get home.

My favourite YouTuber is… I can’t say I go for a lot. Not really. I don’t really watch a lot.

My hardest working teammate isGreg Fisilau here. The kid grafts.

My most skilful teammate is… That is a good one. You’re probably looking at Joe Woodward, Chandler (Cunningham-South).

My favourite training drill is… Lineouts. Lineout contest, team vs team. Going at it in the air.

My favourite music artist is… There is a recurring theme recently. I answered a question a few weeks back and I said my favourite song was Taylor Swift Mine so I am going to have to stay with Taylor Swift now, aren’t I! She’d be up there. It’s a cheesy tune.

THE FUTURE
A player who could go all the way is… Chander. Definitely from this squad.

If I could play with anyone, I would like to play with… My brother. I have never played with him. I have only trained with him so that is my go-to.

I will be happy with my career if I… Got to play alongside my brother for Leicester or England in front of my family.

I want to make a difference by… Being a good leader.

One thing I want to add to my game is… I’d like to be better at carrying, definitely.

If I could get a degree in anything I would choose… I wouldn’t bother. I just don’t fancy going to university. I’d prefer to work.

I would be a better player if I… Was more mobile, as in flexible.

If I could play in any other country, I would play in… I guess I’d go to Scotland, Ireland, or Wales. They’re close to home and I can get a flight in an hour. Home nation countries.

One person I want to meet is… Steven Gerrard. I have always been a big Liverpool fan.

One trophy I would love to win is… The Premiership. Or the U20s World Cup.

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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