Leicester’s new club captain Ollie Chessum has been cleared to return to domestic action against Harlequins ahead of schedule this weekend. The majority of British & Irish Lions squad members are not being permitted to resume playing for their clubs until next week but the Tigers forward has been given special dispensation.
The 25-year-old was injured for a large chunk of last season and ended up starting only 16 games and featuring off the bench four times. Despite being involved in all three Lions Tests against the Wallabies, the player management load group overseeing the welfare of top players has allowed him to face Harlequins at Welford Road on Saturday.
Harlequins, in contrast, will have to do without Chessum’s Lions teammate Marcus Smith who must wait another week before rejoining the fray. Unlike Owen Farrell, who was also sidelined for much of last season and returned for Saracens’ opening Prem game at Newcastle, Smith was involved in 34 matches last season including five non-Test Lions tour games and is required to have a mandatory full 10-week break.
Chessum, however, is raring to go and demonstrate that Leicester can prosper this season despite the departure of Michael Cheika and a number of senior players. The Tigers featured in the Prem final last June but Chessum says their thumping 80-12 European pool defeat by Toulouse is the game that has provided their most enduring motivation. “There was just a sense of ‘We are never going to that place again’. Regardless of how we prepare, regardless of how we are coached, regardless of tactics, we are never going back there.
“It is the worst defeat in the club’s history and to say you were part of that is embarrassing really. So, it hurts. You will always look back and just make sure you never go through a result like that again. I remember Cheik was almost in tears in the changing room. The reason we were in the final last year was due to what happened after that game in Toulouse. There was a real change in all of us.”
Bristol, meanwhile, have revealed they have lost first choice fly-half AJ McGinty for nine months after he was injured in their opening win over Leicester. McGinty has had surgery on his achilles on the same day that his half-back partner Harry Randall required an operation on his hamstring. Randall will be back in the new year while the return for wing Gabriel Itoye, who also injured his hamstring against Leicester and needs surgery is still to be confirmed.
Bath have retained Max Ojomoh at fly-half for their home game against Sale on Friday. Sale, who also made a winning start to the season in the opening round, have made two enforced changes to their starting XV with Hyron Andrews and Sam Bedlow replacing the injured Jacques Vermeulen and Rekeiti Ma’asi White respectively.
