'Bielle-Biarrey's pace spooked me' - Chessum on intercept try finish
England back row Ollie Chessum says the fear of being chased down by Louis Bielle-Biarrey, France's free-scoring, high-speed wing, spooked him as he went in for a 60m intercept try in England's 48-46 Six Nations defeat on Saturday. Chessum, who scored two tries, set up a third and was England's star performer in Paris, admitted he had "copped a lot of stick" for not scoring closer to the posts as he ran in unopposed in the 51st minute. Fly-half Fin Smith missed the subsequent conversion from out near the left-hand 10m line and England ultimately came up just short in a 94-point epic.
"I was adamant that there was a red scrum out lurking in the background that was going to bring me down," said Chessum. "So I just pinned my ears back and hoped that no-one managed to grab on to my coattails and bring me to the floor. "I've copped a lot of stick, I think, for not heading toward the posts.
My brother's sent me a few things, but it was unfamiliar territory for me to be in a line-break situation like that. "I'm sure Fin would have thanked me for it being a bit closer, but I can't turn back the clock now. " Bielle-Biarrey, who scored four tries in France's win, was in close attendance as Chessum picked off Matthieu Jalibert's pass on his own 10m line, but neither he, Jalibert or full-back Thomas Ramos could tun and catch the Leicester man before the line.
Chessum's score came as no surprise to Tigers' coach Geoff Parling, who revealed that the 25-year-old's top sprint speed has been clocked at 9. 3 metres per second. "As soon as he got the intercept I knew he was going to score because I know how fast he is," said Parling.
"I thought he was exceptional against France – he kept trying to drive the team forward and that is what he does for us too. " Chessum said England's final-round display was an improvement but could not mask a miserable Six Nations campaign that returned only one victory from five matches and led to a fifth-place finish. "It was a frustrating few weeks, there's no hiding the disappointment and frustration," he said.