Nowell targets rapid response

By Mark Stevens
14/12/16

Jack Nowell says there has been little time for him and his Exeter Chiefs team-mates to dwell on the disappointment of last weekend’s European Champions Cup loss at the hands of Bordeaux Begles.

The Chiefs saw their European aspirations suffer more disappointment as they slipped to a third successive defeat in Pool 5, going down 13-7 at Sandy Park to the visiting Frenchmen.

This Saturday the two sides will lock horns in the latest round of action, this time at the Stade Chaban Delmas (2pm), and Nowell insists the Premiership club will be looking to bounce back at the first attempt.

“Of course we’re disappointed to lose at home,” said the England international. “Our first half performance was very good, we had lots of territory and lots of possession, but we didn’t make it count.

“We’ve worked a lot this year and last on trying to take as many points as possible every time you get into the opposition 22, but on this occasion we came up just short. In the second half we probably tried to force it a bit and that’s where Bordeaux stung us.

“That said, there is no point in us dwelling on this result. We another chance this weekend to go down there and put in a big performance. It’s not that often you get the chance to play teams back-to-back, so we have to take the positives from this game and then focus fully on the game over there.”

Saturday’s loss ended a four-game winning run for the Chiefs, who following Saturday’s trip across the English Channel will then be gearing up for a busy Premiership block that will see them entertain Leicester Tigers on Christmas Eve, travel to Bath on New Year’s Eve, before 2017 starts with a testing trip to reigning English and European champions Saracens on January 7.

“We’re aware we’ve got a big Premiership block coming up, so it’s all about us trying to build some momentum for those games,” added the Cornishman. “Each week we know we’re going to be playing against some of the best teams in the world, so we never take anything for granted when pulling on an Exeter shirt.

“As I said, we’ve got a big European game this weekend in Bordeaux to focus on and then we will turn our attentions back to the league and the games that lie ahead.”

Last weekend’s game was only Nowell’s third run out of the season after thumb and quad injuries hampered the early part of his campaign. However, fully fit again, the 23-year-old is looking to make up for lost time.

“I’m still a bit rusty and it’s going to take a few weeks to get to where I need to be,” said Nowell, who was being watched from the stands by England head coach Eddie Jones. “I felt a lot better out there today than I did on Monday when I played for the Braves. Monday was more about just blowing away the cobwebs, but the boys really helped me today and now I’m looking to just kick on from here.

“We’re disappointed right now with the result, but as Rob [Baxter] just said in the changing rooms there were a lot of positives to take from the game, so we just need to build on them, cut out the little errors and look to improve in time for the game at the weekend.”