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Leicester The Tigers have agreed a new two-year deal worth £500,000 per season with club skipper Ollie Chessum, who will now stay at Welford Road until 2029.
Chessum, 26, who is tipped as the future England captain, has made 88 appearances for the Tigers since making his debut in the defeat to PREM against Gloucester in Kingsholm in August 2020.
Bravo was named by Geoff Parling last season as the youngest Tigers captain since Ian ‘Dosser’ Smith in 1983 and has become a key player for both club and country.
Chessum, who won 38 caps for the Red Rose, becomes the second Tigers international after Jack van Poortvliet to sign a new long-term deal to stay at Welford Road.
Member of the victorious British and Irish 2025 Lions tour of Australia, where he earned three Tests, Chessum said it was an easy decision to recommit to the Tigers, who could go top of the Gallagher PREM table with victory at Bristol Bears tomorrow night.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision. I saw what Jack van Poortvliet said when he re-signed last week. It’s a lot easier when you love the club but you also love the people in it.”
“I’ve got some of my closest mates here and I think we’re at that turning point in our careers for a lot of us where we’ve gone from those younger players to now we’re all in leadership roles, and we can take this place where we want to.
“Adding to that, we’ve got real consistency with Geoff (Parling) being here for a second season. I’m really enjoying working with him and it’s been as easy for me as I couldn’t imagine wearing any other badge on my chest,” he said.
While Parling said: “It is just over a year since I asked Chess to captain the club and he has been brilliant in managing our levels of preparation each week.
“I want our environment to have both a solid edge and to be fun, with real togetherness in the group, and I think his personality fits really well. It’s exciting that he has huge potential to continue to push and develop his game further, both for us and for England.”