Ewers braced for Thomond battle
By Alex Isaacs
11/4/22
Dave Ewers insists it’s ‘all to play for’ as Exeter Chiefs ready themselves for this Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup second leg with Munster Rugby.
The Chiefs will travel to Thomond Park with a slender five-point advantage after they edged their Round of 16 first leg tie 13-8.
Scotland captain Stuart Hogg led the way for the Devonians, grabbed a try and a superb 45-metre drop-goal, to go alongside a further score from South African powerhouse Jacques Vermeulen.
Munster, though, refused to go quietly and they made the most of Exeter losing Olly Woodburn and Patrick Schickerling to yellow cards in the second half to reduce the deficit with a penalty from Ben Healy and a try from Shane Daly.
Now, the two must go face-off again this weekend in what should be another titanic tussle between two of European Rugby’s heavyweight sides.
Ewers is expected to be part and parcel of the Chiefs side that travels across the Irish Sea and he is bracing himself for a no-holds-barred encounter in Limerick.
“Today’s a good result, but we can’t help think we have left a few points out there,” said the 31-year-old. “Right now, it’s half time, but now it’s a massive game next week. We’ve got a slim lead to take over there, but we just have to approach it like any other game. We need to go there and just aim to win.”
In what was a hugely physical encounter, Ewers – sporting the scars of battle – admitted he expected more of the same in what should be a thunderous atmosphere in Limerick.
“It was tough out there, but that’s what you expect,” said Ewers. “Fair play to them, breakdown wise they came after it hard and if we weren’t on point, they punished us. It’s going to be the same next week, an even bigger challenge, but it’s one that we’re all looking forward to.”
Ewers knows from past experience that tackling Munster will be a huge test, but he says he and his team-mates underlined their own fighting qualities, particularly when reduced to 13 men.
“The boys did well, it was a huge effort, especially when we were on our line,” he added. “To turn them over like we did, it was a huge moment, and we could easily have leaked some points which would have hindered us going into the second leg.”
As it is, the Chiefs have that slender lead and Ewers is hopeful of finishing the task this weekend.
“It’s all to play for,” he said. “It’s going to be a huge game, a big occasion, and the atmosphere is going to be something special. For us, though, it’s our chance to go and prove ourselves and hopefully deliver what will be a big performance.”