Chessum chasing his dream at Tigers

Ben Jaycock talks to Leicester lock Lewis Chessum who has a big goal for when he returns from sabbatical in Japan

- Ben Jaycock

FOLLOWING an enjoyable sabbatical in Japan, Lewis Chessum has unfinished business to take care of in England and hopes to play alongside his older brother Ollie for Leicester Tigers.

The 22-year-old former England U20s captain has benefited from his club’s partnership with Japan Rugby League One outfit Mitsubishi Dynaboars. Having grown up in the Lincolnshire countryside, the 6ft 9ins second row has been blown away by busy city life in Tokyo and is de-lighted to have helped the Dynaboars avoid a relegation battle.

And now he has turned his atten-tion to breaking into Leicester's first team next season, with the aim of partnering his brother in the second row for his boyhood club.

Chessum told The Rugby Paper: “Living here for four months, I’ve had a chance to get out and explore to see a few things and eat a few things. I’m a Lincolnshire boy really. My weekends back home are spent in the middle of nowhere, not really around many people, whereas you come here and it’s a completely different story. Tokyo is a bit of a different beast to Lincoln city or Leicester. I've travelled around a bit in the week as they get a lot more downtime here than in the Premier-ship so I've had the opportunity to jump into a bit of the culture.