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Tigers and Dynaboars agree Performance Partnership

Leicester Tigers are excited to announce a Performance Partnership with Japanese club, Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars.

One of twelve teams in Division 1 of Japan Rugby League One, the Dynaboars are coached by Glenn Delaney, who previously coached at Scarlets and London Irish, as well as Nottingham Rugby - another Performance Partnership club with Tigers.

Based in Sagamihara, Japan, the Dynaboars are owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

The partnership will see the two clubs work together in sharing high performance expertise between coaches and staff at senior and academy levels in medical, strength and conditioning, analysis, recruitment and player welfare.

Both clubs will also work together off the field in commercial endeavours, including benchmarking and sharing best practice between the two organisations in commercial, community, marketing and operations functions.

The partnership will be overseen by Talent ID & Recruitment Manager James Wade, who oversees the existing Performance Partnership with Nottingham Rugby and the club’s relationship with rugby clubs and organisations in Leicestershire and beyond to help develop young players on and off the field.

Lewis Chessum

Additionally, players from both clubs will be presented opportunities for loan periods at the alternative club to further their development and offer unrivalled life experience.

Pioneering the agreement is Lewis Chessum, who will join Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars for their 2025 season on loan from Leicester Tigers.

The 21-year-old lock has also agreed a new deal with the club which will see him remain a Leicester Tigers player beyond the current season.

Chessum has made 12 senior appearances for the club and represented England at age-grade level. Following the Dynaboars season, he will return to Leicester for the final block of the 24/25 campaign.

Speaking about the partnership, Leicester Tigers Chief Executive Officer Andrea Pinchen said: “We are excited about this partnership and the many opportunities, reaching far and wide across both organisations, that it presents.”

“To be able to align ourselves with an organisation of Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars standing is a proud moment for us and the chances it presents for our people at Leicester Tigers is very exciting.

“The uniqueness in which the partnership also provides opportunities for everyone at the club, extending beyond our playing group and off the field into the commercial, community and operational functions is testament to the relationship that has already been built between the two clubs, and it continues to grow.

“This is a partnership I believe will be of huge benefit to us moving into the future and will continue to develop even more as we work together.”

On the loan of Lewis Chessum, Pinchen added: “Lewis is a great representative of our Club and our academy system, and has made great strides in his development in recent years, which this experience will only add to while he is in Japan.

“I am certain he will thrive in a new, challenging environment and kick off this brand-new partnership in the perfect way.”

Leicester Tigers General Manager Richard Wilks added: “We are very pleased to be able to announce this partnership and the benefits it will bring us at the club, which begins with Lewis Chessum joining Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars on loan."

Lewis Chessum

“As well as the worldly experience and positive enrichment this chance presents Lewis as a young man, who has only every known Leicester, it also gives him an opportunity to develop his game in a new, high-performance environment under a brilliant rugby mind in Glenn Delaney.

“Glenn has a track record of improving players on the field and off it, which goes back years and includes Leicester Tigers legends like Tom Youngs during his time at Nottingham under his tutelage.

“Lewis has also, unfortunately, been hampered by injuries in recent seasons, which has limited his playing time, so this chance to go and get game time in a proven, world-class league is an added bonus.

“I am excited for Lewis, excited for this partnership to begin and excited for the potential in it to grow into so much more in the years to come.”

On the new deal for Chessum, Wilks added: “Lewis is a Tigers product, who is proud to represent the club and we are very proud to have him here.”

“It is wonderful that his future is locked in and, following this opportunity in Japan, we are looking forward to welcoming him back and seeing him continue as a Leicester Tigers player for years to come.

Find out more about Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars HERE.