Ewers praises Exeter's fighting spirit
By Mark Stevens
16/3/21
Dave Ewers praised the fighting spirit of his Exeter Chiefs team-mates as they maintained their top two placing in the Gallagher Premiership with victory over Harlequins at Sandy Park.
The powerful back-row forward powered over for his side’s third try, five minutes from time, to help the defending champions record a crucial 21-20 victory.
Exeter’s success meant they not only kept pace with table-topping Bristol Bears, but also pulled clear of Harlequins, who lie a place and five points below them in the table after 13 rounds of battle.
“It’s a big win for us,” said Ewers, who made his 150th Premiership and Champions Cup appearance for the club. “Thinking long-term, we want to be in that top two because getting a home semi-final is massive. Winning today and getting that little bit of distance between us and third place is huge.”
In what was a testing encounter for Rob Baxter’s side, they had to dig deep into their reserves to finally overhaul the Londoners, who had bagged converted tries through Danny Care and Scott Baldwin, plus two Marcus Smith penalties to lead 20-7 at one stage in the match.
Stu Townsend’s first half try, coupled with second half efforts from Harry Williams and Ewers, proved vital for the Chiefs, who this weekend welcome Leicester Tigers to Sandy Park in their latest top-flight outing.
“It was tough out there,” added Ewers. “We made it hard for ourselves with our individual errors, our discipline and dropping balls. It just allowed them back into the game and they took their chances well.
“That said, I thought we showed huge courage – especially in the second half – to come back like we did and win the game. There was a lot of fight out there and although we weren’t quite at the races at the beginning, we dug deep when we needed to and we’re pleased to get the win.”
Up until Ewers’ late intervention, there was some concern within the ranks that the Chiefs could be slipping to a third home defeat of the season.
Thankfully, the Zimbabwean-born forward came up trumps when he needed to, but warned that improvements need to be made as the Chiefs look to make the most of home advantage during the latter stages of the season.
“Being honest, our home form hasn’t been where we want it to be,” said Ewers. “We’ve been good away from home, but we really need to start lifting our performances here.”
