"Give you the middle finger" – Ollie Chessum: England lock recalls 'hostile' abuse from Welsh fans ahead of Six Nations clash
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If there was ever one match that opitimised the ferocity of a Six Nations rivalry, it is when England head to Cardiff for a battle with Wales. The passion of Welsh dragon fire burns through the streets of the capital, as sharp-eyed home fans keep a look out for the arrival of the old enemies’ team bus.
England forward Ollie Chessum expressed in today’s media session, how there is nothing quite like the journey through Cardiff and the hostility his team feels, from the most aggressive pockets of Welsh fans.
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“You drive down the street on the way in, we start by the quay and work our way into the centre of Cardiff. If you look out the bus window, you’ll see a young lad with his old man, and he’ll give his dad a tap. His dad gives him the approval, and they turn around, and they both give you the middle finger!
“That’s the kind of thing that sticks out in my memory. That last stretch as you go into Cardiff and the streets are just packed. There’s no other stadium like it really, in that sense. Everywhere else is out in the sticks, the Principality’s slap bang in the mixer and, they all want to bite at you. But it’s special.”
Chessum explained how due to the tinted windows of the England team bus, the Wales fans a “shooting in the dark”, at their incoming visitors. The Leicester Tigers man recalled how he has previously seen Welsh fans as young as five-years-old give the England players quite an unsavory welcome, with one particular memory personifying how the fans are never too young to embrace the Anglo-Welsh rivalry.
“One that sticks out in my memory, it wasn’t even game day.” Chessum said. “It was the day before we’re driving through, we pull up at a roundabout, a few vans go by and you get the old beep and what have you. A car pulls up next to us, and mum and grandma are in the front seat, and there’s a kid, he can’t have been more than five, his Grandma winds down the back window, and the kid just gives us the middle finger.
“I thought 'that’s brilliant'. It’s things like that, that make this fixture so special with the rivalry. That the nature of it, that we’re neighbors. So it’s going to be like that.”
When the roof is closed on Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, a cacophony of noise is trapped within the confides of the capital city Colosseum. Chessum has witnessed the sights and sounds of the Principality once before, when he was apart of the England team that achieved a 20-10 away win in the 2023 Six Nations. Expected to run out at lock for this Saturday’s blockbuster fixture, Chessum recalled his first impressions of a truly one of a kind Test match environment.
“I’m not sure it is possible to recreate, because I think if you could recreate it, then every team in the world would do it. It’s quite special, but I think you have to acknowledge it 100%. Especially, like (how) I’ve been fortunate to play in the fixture before, so I’ve got a bit of an idea of what’s coming.
“I’ve only played there once, but I don’t know who’s going to play this weekend, but there’s potentially, lads that haven’t experienced something like that before, and you’ve got to acknowledge that, because it’s a huge weapon for them. You speak around the 16th man, or 24th man, whatever you want to call it, that is what that crowd can be for them. When the roof’s shut and the pyros have gone off, and that fog descends on the Principality, it’s a pretty special place to play.”
Back in their shared green and white of Leicester Tigers, one of Chessum closest compartriots is Tommy Reffell. The Wales back row reached out to Chessum last weekend, to congratulate him on his Player of the Match performance against Italy. However, since the start of the Test week, Chessum explained how it has been ‘radio silence’ between him and his Tigers teammate.
“Back home at Leicester Tommy’s is probably one of my best mates, but I imagine this week will be radio silence. I don’t think we’ll be talking too much”
“No, I’ve not (spoke with him). I’ve not seen Tommy. He’s been hiding away in his hobbit hole in Wales. So we’ve not spoken much. He messaged me, actually, after the game on Sunday and congratulated me on a good performance. But we haven’t spoken too much.
“I think that’s the nature of the tournament. I’ve got teammates playing in all nations, played against Will Hurd, when we played Scotland. They are your mates, you can’t hide that fact. But I’m an England player at the minute, not a Leicester player. So, a consequence that is those friendships have to sort of take a backward step.”
England don’t hold all the cards to secure the Six Nations title this weekend, as even if they achieve a big win over Wales, Steve Borthwick’s side will need another favourable result to etrch their name on the trophy. Should England beat Matt Sherratt’s rejuvenated side, then they will have to hope that Scotland can get the win in France.
A win for Gregor Townsend’s men would hand England the title, but Chessum understands that the permutations only come into play if England get their own job done first. The versatile lock explained how his side are by no means picking out their tartan kilts just yet, despite how the outside noise may be writing Wales out of the final round clash.
“I wouldn’t like using the term Scotland fan anyway, but I think a lot of people – not us, not internally, but outside – are overlooking the fixture we’ve got this weekend. We’ve got to go to Cardiff and a play a team that are full of talented individuals who are clearly on the up.
“They’ve had a change around in their in their backroom staff. Jamie said it out in the media about it being around a World Cup final, this is a massive game for both of us. I think they’d love nothing more than to put a stop to our to our title hopes and beat us in Cardiff. So we’ve got a mammoth task on our hands to go down there and win first.”
“The nature of rugby is one game can change everything. Beating us, I imagine for them (Wales), rights the wrongs of the last 15 or 16 games. Us not winning at the weekend would do the complete opposite for us. The magnitude of this game can’t be overlooked and that’s why from from our perspective we’re not looking past 4:45pm on Saturday in Cardiff.”
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QUIZ: Can You Name EVERY Player in England’s 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam Squad?
England last won the Six Nations Grand Slam back in 2016, in what was Eddie Jones’ first Championship in charge. Taking over from Stuart Lancaster, Jones appointed a new captain to his side, in what was the start of a record equalising 18-test match winning streak.
Jones named a 33-man squad for the 2016 Six Nations, and we’ve laid out the challenge for you to name each and every one of the players. Due to the extra toughness of this one, we’ve given a slightly longer time limit for you to rattle off the answers.
Your time starts… now!
The post “Give you the middle finger” – Ollie Chessum: England lock recalls ‘hostile’ abuse from Welsh fans ahead of Six Nations clash appeared first on Ruck.
