James Chisholm retires from rugby with immediate effect

Harlequins can today confirm that James Chisholm has retired from professional rugby union with immediate effect.

The one-club man steps away from the game with 164 appearances and 21 tries to his name, bringing down the curtain on a career that made him a fixture of the first team for more than a decade.

The 31-year-old back rower retires having been unable to return to fitness following an Achilles rupture sustained in January 2025.

Chisholm's rugby journey began at Haywards Heath RFC in West Sussex and he started training with the Harlequins Academy as an Under-13, before joining the programme full-time from 2013. He made his senior debut that same year in the Anglo-Welsh Cup against Exeter Chiefs, with his PREM debut following soon after.

Alongside his early years at Quins, Chisholm quickly rose through the age-grade ranks with England, helping the U20s win the Junior World Championship in 2014 and the Six Nations title in 2015. That year he was named World Rugby U20 Championship Player of the Year, later earning selection for England Saxons, who beat South Africa 2-0 in a series in June 2016.

Known for combining dynamism in open play with a dominant presence at the contact area, Chisholm won the club's Player of the Season award in 2016/17 and 2017/18, and the Players' Player of the Season award in 2016/17. He would continue to leave his mark both on and off the field in the quarters until present day.

During his time at Quins, Chisholm played alongside his brother Ross (Harlequins Women Head Coach) for several seasons and was a key member of the squad that lifted the Gallagher PREM trophy in 2020/21, scoring a memorable try at Ashton Gate in the play-off comeback against Bristol Bears.

“Obviously, it’s been a bit of an uphill battle with the recovery from my Achilles injury, and unfortunately my body just can’t get there. I still have the want to play and was really looking forward to this season and gave pre-season my all. We tried everything but I just couldn’t get there. I feel ok about it all, and I am at peace with the decision now,” said James Chisholm, in a club interview with his brother, Ross.

“The Stoop has been an awesome place to play my rugby, and I would like to thank everyone that has supported me. To my teammates, coaches and anyone that has ever come to support me, talk to me and cheer me on – thank you so much. It’s been an incredible experience, and the love you feel from this place (The Stoop) is really powerful, even when you’re not playing so well.

“The energy our Mum and Dad put into our careers and into us as children, so we could do everything we did was massively important – I hope they know how thankful we are.

“It’s helpful having friends both in and out of rugby. It has shown me that there is a life on the other side. I don’t know what will make me sad or what elements I will miss, but I know there is happiness beyond just playing rugby, and I am looking forward to it.”

On Chisholm’s career as a Harlequin, Head Coach Jason Gilmore added: “Chis (James Chisholm) has been an unbelievable servant to the Club. He’s been a formidable player on the pitch and a great character off it too, he’s a team-first man who has been so good for our environment, even through the tough moments he has experienced.

“Being a one-club man is rare these days too, so to have played his whole career as a Harlequin is a fantastic achievement. It’s disappointing for him, and us, that his time representing the Club on the pitch has come to a premature end. We’re committed to supporting him through the next steps of his career, whatever that may be.

“On behalf of everyone associated with the programme, I want to thank Chis for his contribution to Harlequins, and we all wish him nothing but the best of luck in his next chapter. Once a Quin, always a Quin.”