South Africa’s Handre Pollard could put the boot into England on Saturday, but Ollie Chessum still wants his Leicester team-mate involved in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Pollard’s 22-point haul helped South Africa sink England 32-12 in the World Cup final in Japan in 2019, and the two teams face off in a big rematch in Paris this weekend.
The Springboks will be favourites for the Stade de France clash, but England are confident and committed to the task of toppling the reigning champions.
Pollard missed out on initial World Cup selection for South Africa due to a calf injury, leaving the 29-year-old rehabilitating in a rush at club side Leicester.
The former Montpellier fly-half refused to relent on his fitness bid, just in case an injury replacement opening would materialise with the Springboks.
And when Malcolm Marx went down with a knee problem, the Boks opted not to bring in another hooker – calling up Pollard instead.
England lock Chessum knows all about a World Cup fitness race after suffering a nasty dislocated ankle in March.
The 23-year-old recovered ahead of schedule to make the World Cup with Steve Borthwick’s men, and has now revealed his delight to see club-mate and friend Pollard back in action for South Africa too.
“I’m good friends with Handre back at Leicester, and you don’t want to see your mates missing out on opportunities that you think they’re deserving of,” said Chessum.
“You want to be playing against the biggest teams in the biggest competitions on the biggest stages, and you want the best players playing.
“And it’s great to see Handre back in the mix. I’ve not had any contact with them obviously, since we’ve been in.
“But from my experience, it was a massive relief getting back fit, and I’m sure he’s feeling exactly the same.”
South Africa boast the most fearsome pack in Test rugby, the Boks’ raw physicality ranking among the most daunting challenges in the international arena.
Chessum insisted however that an undeterred England cannot wait to get to grips with some of the titans of the sport this weekend in Saint Denis.
“It’s massively exciting, they have some unbelievable players in their pack,” said Chessum. “They bring and exceptional level of physicality. It’s up to us to go out on the weekend and compete against that.
“We are definitely hoping for another step forward, that’s been the nature of the competition. Week by week we have grown as a group and got better in various aspects of our game.
“South Africa are unbelievable across the board and we have got to be the same, if not better. It’s important that we bring the physicality but also the level of execution as well at the weekend.”
