Nowell targets more Twickenham glory
By Mark Stevens
20/6/21
Jack Nowell is setting his sights on another Twickenham triumph after he and his Exeter Chiefs team-mates booked themselves a place in this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership Final against Harlequins.
The defending champions overcame rivals Sale Sharks 40-30 at Sandy Park to ensure they will be heading to the capital for a sixth successive season to compete in English Rugby’s showpiece finale.
Cornishman Nowell marked his return to first-team duty by scoring two of his side’s five tries on the day, while hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and wingers Tom O’Flaherty and Alex Cuthbert weighed in with the other touchdowns.
Sale countered with three tries of their own through Rohan Janse Van Rensburg (2) and Dan du Preez, but it was never going to be enough to thwart the Chiefs on their own patch.
“It feels class,” said Nowell at the final whistle. “I’ve been desperate to get back with the boys and to get that performance out there today, it just tops it all off.”
Nowell has spent much of the current campaign sidelined with a string of untimely injuries, but the England and British Lions star showed no signs of rustiness in a polished performance at full-back.
Urged on by a crowd of just over 3,000 - including partner Zoe and his two daughters Nori and Zimmi - Nowell admitted having the Chiefs faithful in attendance offered the perfect backdrop for them to perform.
“That’s the first time I’ve played in front of a crowd [since the whole Covid thing],” he added. “I’ve certainly missed them, but we saw last week - especially in that final 20 minutes - and again today what they bring. Hopefully, we can get a few up to Twickenham next week to give it one final push.”
Standing in the way of the Chiefs from securing back-to-back titles will be Harlequins, who overcame a 28-0 deficit to win 43-36 after extra time against Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate.
Nowell knows from past experience the threat posed by the Londoners and he issued a timely warning in the wake of his own side’s success.
“They’ll be dangerous,” he said. “I think a lot of people expected Bristol to be there, so that result shows what they are all about. They have quality players and they are a good side, so we know we’ll need to turn up next week. Right now, we’ll enjoy tonight and then focus on things come Monday.”
Exeter’s victory helped bring a happy conclusion to what had been an emotional week for the Chiefs, who had lost key players Dave Ewers and Sam Skinner to four-week bans following their appearances before an RFU Disciplinary panel earlier in the week.
“As a group we’ve been bubbling a lot this week,” explained Nowell. “A few things hurt us. Obviously, the way we performed for much of last week’s game [against Sale] and losing both Sam and Dave the way we did, we meant that for them. As I said, it’s been an emotional week, but we’re glad to come out on top. Now we’ve got one more game to go.”