England's Chessum Issues Rallying Cry Ahead of Final Six Nations Challenges
Leicester lock Ollie Chessum has issued a stark challenge to the England rugby team, demanding they show their true character and end a disappointing Guinness Six Nations campaign with a defiant flourish. Successive defeats by Scotland and Ireland have seen Steve Borthwick's side plummet to fourth place in the championship table, with their reputation severely dented.
Mathematical Hope Amidst Realistic Expectations
While England retain a mathematical possibility of clinching the title, the scenario requires a spectacular collapse from both Grand Slam-chasing France and a resurgent Ireland. Realistically, the focus has shifted to salvaging pride and restoring credibility during the concluding away fixtures against Italy and France.
"What will be, will be. We wanted to win every game, it hasn't happened. We never go into a game wanting to lose," Chessum stated emphatically. "The chances are that when you have lost two games it is out of your hands, but we will do everything in our power to put ourselves in a position and whatever will be, will be."
Addressing Critical Flaws and Performance Issues
The recent loss to Ireland exposed significant malfunctions across most departments of England's game, with only the scrum emerging as a positive. For the second weekend running, the team found themselves facing an uphill battle after surrendering an early advantage.
"There is no point papering over cracks – we weren't good in a lot of areas against Ireland and nowhere near where we expected ourselves to be," Chessum admitted candidly. "The coaches have had some honest conversations and we've had some honest conversations as a players' group."
During the fallow week, the performance has been meticulously analyzed, with Chessum identifying a crucial deficiency: "I just think that, by and large, for most of our actions, we just lacked a little bit of zip and Ireland clearly didn't. When you are off by just one or two per cent against these top sides, they will make you look very silly, very quickly."
The Path to Redemption Against Formidable Opponents
England now face the daunting task of confronting an Italian side that has become more formidable than at any point since their Six Nations debut in 2000. Chessum emphasized the urgency of addressing their shortcomings immediately.
"We have got to get back to where we know we can be as a group. We are not a bad team, we have proven that," he asserted. "We have got great players and great talent in the room and when we get it right and pull together collectively, we are a hard team to beat."
Reflecting on their earlier success, Chessum noted: "Beforehand we had been doing that largely to a lot of teams and for whatever reason, in the last couple of games we have been one or two per cent off in small areas – just in the way we moved and that has cost us dearly."
With no match this weekend, Chessum revealed their strategy: "There's no game this weekend so we can really dive deep into small things, makes some changes and then hit the ground running on Monday, implementing the changes in Italy."
The England squad must now demonstrate their resilience and capability to bounce back, transforming their disappointing campaign into a statement of intent as they prepare for their final championship challenges.
