{"id":497583,"date":"2026-03-27T03:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497583\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T03:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:45:14","slug":"leicesters-shot-at-glory-lies-at-home-so-rest-ollie-chessum-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497583\/","title":{"rendered":"Leicester\u2019s shot at glory lies at home \u2014 so rest Ollie Chessum in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gloucester this Saturday is the only game that matters for Leicester Tigers. It\u2019s time for them to turn their back on Europe and Bordeaux B\u00e8gles. There\u2019s not much in the way of options anyway. The Champions Cup may be a glittering dream, but that\u2019s all it is for this tenacious Tigers team: a dream. <\/p>\n

Next week they travel to Bordeaux, where they will face the defending champions and firm favourites to win the Champions Cup again.<\/p>\n

To beat Bordeaux B\u00e8gles would be among the greatest feats in the illustrious history of the Tigers. Last week the European champions battered Toulouse. Not much more needs to be said. Other than this; if Geoff Parling\u2019s team do pull off one of the finest performances in the club\u2019s history, the reward is likely to be another visit to France, where Toulouse, France\u2019s second team and Europe\u2019s greatest of giants, would probably await them.<\/p>\n

Beating Bordeaux and Toulouse in successive weeks doesn\u2019t deliver a trophy, despite the fact that most rugby fans would place such an achievement in the realm of fantasy. Instinct reaches for the word \u201cimpossible\u201d, but the recent Six Nations<\/a> advises us against that definitive. It\u2019s not going to happen\u2026 but you never know.<\/p>\n

\"RUGBYU-FRA-TOP14-BORDEAUX-TOULOUSE\"Having been spurned by the France coach Fabien Galthi\u00e9, Penaud scored a try in Bordeaux\u2019s 44-20 dismantling of Toulouse last weekROMAIN PERROCHEAU \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

If it did, the chances are Leicester would play Northampton or Bath, the two most recent English champions and the two clubs above them in the Gallagher Prem table. The potential threat of the vastly underestimated Glasgow awaiting them in their fantasy final in Bilbao is a whole other column. The greatest team in the history of European Cup rugby would struggle to win from Leicester\u2019s lowly location as 16th seed.<\/p>\n

Truth be told, Leicester neither expected nor wanted this Homeric undertaking. In the previous round of the Champions Cup, they left most of their front five at home for the long trip to Cape Town and a clash with the Stormers. The East Midlands side were courageous, losing 39-26, the scoreline exaggerated by a Stormers try in the dying moments of the game.<\/p>\n

The weakened Tigers seemingly exited the tournament with their heads held high, only for Harlequins to stun everyone, beating La Rochelle away from home 24 hours later. The elimination of Ronan O\u2019Gara\u2019s team gave Leicester the second chance in Bordeaux that wasn\u2019t meant to be. The round-of-16 stage is more threat than opportunity to Leicester.<\/p>\n

Last season Bath were beaten 22-21 in Italy and missed Champions Cup qualification. The social media crew berated Bath for treating the competition lightly, risking defeat and elimination by fielding a side infinitely nearer second-team than first-team strength. But the rugby gods were with Johann van Graan. That late Benetton winner enabled Bath to forget about the European elite and focus on what ended as a treble-winning season. In Italy, Bath had the perfect defeat.<\/p>\n

\"GeoffParling won his second Premiership title with Leicester in 2013David Rogers\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Bath\u2019s prime objective was to regain the Prem title at Twickenham. They needed everything they had against a Leicester team that pushed them to the final minute. Who knows, a European distraction could have cost them the English title. Bath were as unready to win the Champions Cup then as Leicester are now.<\/p>\n

This Saturday\u2019s Slater Cup match against Gloucester at Villa Park is more important than Bordeaux. The priority seems clear. Last week Leicester fielded a front five against Bristol that was infinitely stronger than the unit they had sent to South Africa in January. It was a match Leicester could not afford to lose. The manner in which they scored their bonus-point fifth\u00a0try from their own half was testament to how much every point counts if they are to succeed Bath as champions. And how much they are aware of the fact.<\/p>\n

To reiterate Monday\u2019s column, in the past decade of finals, the title has been won by either the league\u2019s first or second-placed side on nine of the ten occasions, with Harlequins the only outsiders bucking the trend. Leicester are five points behind Bath, seven behind Northampton<\/a>, one ahead of Exeter and four clear of Bristol.<\/p>\n

Nothing but an away win will do in Birmingham. Especially as Exeter travel to face Newcastle Red Bulls and Bristol host a Harlequins team focused on Europe rather than the league. The London side can lose at the Principality by 30 points and use Sale Sharks\u2019 European adventure next week as an excuse.<\/p>\n

Sale rested five of their England squad against Exeter last week and will probably recall them for Sunday\u2019s Prem match against Bath as preparation for Harlequins, a game that will make or break the season as much for them as for Harlequins. Bath will rely on their strength in depth to see them through the tricky Sale game before they host Saracens in the Champions Cup \u2014 but they could slip up and give Leicester a chance to narrow the gap in the Prem table.<\/p>\n

\"GabrielA late try from Gabriel Hamer-Webb, left, secured a bonus point for Leicester against Bristol last weekend. The Tigers ought to chase every Prem point in a similar manner for the rest of the seasonDavid Rogers\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Tigers cannot risk fielding their inspirational lock Ollie Chessum<\/a>, nor Joe Heyes, against Bordeaux, for a shot at glory that could cost them vital Prem points. In an ideal world, men like Chessum would be automatic picks for a match like Bordeaux but we are in the age of micro-management, not defiant heroes.<\/p>\n

England players involved in every Six Nations match day must have one match off in the three immediate post-international fixtures. Managers have to manage. In the next round of fixtures, Leicester play Newcastle at home. Bath are likely to reap maximum points at home to Harlequins but someone will drop points as Exeter host Northampton.<\/p>\n

In round 14 Northampton and Bath meet, giving Leicester another chance to clamber towards the top two. In round 15, it is the East Midlands derby in Leicester, and Exeter versus Bath. This block of fixtures is more likely to define Leicester\u2019s season than the longest of European shots.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Parling keeping the team fresh, selecting sensibly, that will see Leicester towards the title. Europe, an excuse for Sale and Harlequins, an aspiration for the Saints and Bath, is a daydream for Leicester. Their involvement was supposed to end in a different continent, it will not end in glory. Parling \u2014 as Bath did last season \u2014 must focus on England.<\/p>\n

Gloucester v Leicester Tigers<\/p>\n

Gallagher Prem
Saturday, 1pm
TV\u00a0TNT Sports 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gloucester this Saturday is the only game that matters for Leicester Tigers. It\u2019s time for them to turn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-497583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}