‘It would be pretty special’ – Chessum on England captaincy links

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Chessum has won 38 caps since making his England debut in February 2022

Ollie Chessum says that he relishes being an on-pitch leader after being tipped as a long-term successor to England skipper Maro Itoje.

Chessum, who captains Prem table-toppers Leicester and toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions last year, has become a key part of England’s pack, able to operate in both the second row and at blindside flanker.

“While it’s nice that people can tickle your ego a little bit and give you that compliment and I do really enjoy the leadership side of the game, it’s certainly not one for now,” Chessum told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

“It is maybe further down the line that I have leadership ambitions, but I feel like captaincy is not really something you go after. I feel like it’s a role that almost finds the right individual.

“Right now we’ve got a very, very good captain in Maro and I’m picking his brains as part of an incredibly experienced senior leadership group.

“Who knows what’s down the line in years to come? Of course, it would be a pretty special thing to do, I’m sure.”

Itoje, 32, was appointed as England captain in January 2025, taking over the role from Saracens team-mate Jamie George.

Owen Farrell previously held the full-time role since 2019, before stepping back from Test rugby in late 2023 and then moving to France, becoming ineligible for international selection.

Chessum, 26, says there has been no issue smoothing over the ructions that have occurred between him and England team-mates on club duty in recent weeks.

He was at the centre of a half-time skirmish in Tigers’ win over East Midlands rivals Northampton, pushing Henry Pollock down the tunnel, before briefly confronting Bristol’s Ellis Genge a week later.

“It’s not difficult at all [to put all that behind you],” Chessum said. “They are two of my close mates in camp.

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Chessum and Pollock switched from rivals to team-mates as the Test window opened

“Gengey is someone I’ve known for a number of years since he was my captain at Leicester and Henry’s obviously someone I’ve got to know very well the last couple of years.

“Gengey was captain for the year we managed to win the Premiership under Steve [Borthwick].

“It is strange coming up against him in a different shirt but I’d expect nothing less of Gengey than to try and get under your skin somehow. It’s all part of the game. He loves it. You see the smile on his face as he’s walking away from you in that game.

“I’d expect nothing less of them and they’d I’d hope would expect nothing less of me than to give 100% for whatever shirt I’m wearing.”

England take on Australia on Sunday as they return to Allianz Stadium for the first time since February’s 42-21 defeat by Ireland, one of the lowlights of a miserable Six Nations campaign.

England lost to world champions South Africa in July, before wins over Fiji and Argentina.

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Chessum says he understands that patience among the Twickenham patrons may be wearing thin.

“I can totally understand the frustration because we as a group feel it,” he said.

“We’ve got a huge amount of talent in the room. We’ve got an incredible coaching set-up who couldn’t really give us any more. We’re constantly trying to improve and find ways, but we as a team have let ourselves down at times.

“We’ve failed to hit the sort of mark that, not only we expect of ourselves, but I think that England fans expect of their team.

“But I am also hugely excited. The talent we got in this group hasn’t really got a ceiling. Some of the young guys that are coming through and have only got a handful of caps, you can really see being part of this England team for a very, very long time.

“Couple that with the leadership we’ve got at the top with Maro, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, George Ford and those sorts of figures, and we’ve got a real good balance in the squad.”

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