Genge and Chessum attracting French interest as Lions stars face uncertain futures

Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum, both British & Irish Lions, are attracting significant interest from Top 14 clubs as questions grow over their long-term futures at Bristol Bears and Leicester Tigers respectively.

Genge, 31, is contracted to Bristol until the end of the 2027-28 season, but his omission from a recent England pre-season alignment camp at Pennyhill Park has fuelled speculation. Pau — who have already signed Beno Obano from Bath — and Bordeaux are among the French clubs monitoring the loosehead, while a couple of Japanese clubs are also said to be confident they can secure a deal a year before his contract expires.

Chessum’s situation is more pressing. The England lock’s contract at Leicester runs out at the end of the current season, and his advisors are circulating his CV among French clubs in an effort to pressure Tigers head coach Geoff Parling into offering a lucrative extension. Leicester are keen to avoid a repeat of this summer, when England number eight George Martin departed for Saracens on a free transfer after his Welford Road deal lapsed. French clubs, however, are reluctant to move quickly, with sources indicating they accept Chessum will not leave Leicester before next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Elsewhere at Bristol, former Ireland hooker and ex-Dragons head coach Bernard Jackman has joined the Bears as head of recruitment, renewing his working relationship with director of rugby Pat Lam. Jackman takes over from Gethin Watts, who left the club in August after seven years. His immediate priority is finding a replacement for full-back Noah Heward, who suffered a serious knee injury in the Premiership Rugby Cup defeat to Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park.

At Bath, the club are closing in on a contract extension for England openside flanker Guy Pepper, who entered the final year of his deal in July. Pepper, 15 caps to his name since moving from Newcastle Falcons two years ago, is expected to sign in the near future after talks progressed significantly.

Northampton Saints head coach Phil Dowson has spoken about the road back for winger Ollie Sleightholme, 26, who has been hampered by ankle and hamstring problems. Sleightholme scored 11 tries in 14 games last season and is in the final year of his Saints contract. “He’s been very disrupted by injury, and we’ve got to try and make sure that he gets some consistency around his training week and then he gets some consistency around his performances as well,” Dowson said.