Leicester Tigers captain Ollie Chessum has signed a new multi-year contract to remain with the Welford Road club. It is a two-year deal, and the news comes less than a week after his England teammate Jack van Poortvliet also dedicated his future to Leicester.
Chessum, who is 26, has made 88 appearances for the Tigers since emerging from the club's academy. The club named him captain ahead of the 2025/26 season. He was also part of the team that won the Premiership title in 2022.
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling stated that young players who have come through the academy are developed within the club and are eager for the team's success. "Fans can identify with them because they see a local player playing, which is very important, and they are also quality players," Parling said.
Parling also highlighted Chessum's development in the captaincy role. "Ollie has really progressed as captain, he is really pushing things forward, he is an excellent driver of what we do and has good support from other players," the coach added.
He revealed that he had only heard praise about Chessum before joining the club, but wanted to form his own conclusion. "In the first few weeks around training, I could see what he was like and his desire to be better, which actually aligned with some of my thoughts and the way we compete and train, which was very important," Parling said.
He added that Chessum possesses the characteristics he wanted in a captain. The new contract thus confirms that Leicester is counting on its captain and one of its key players in the long term.
