No bigger test than Saracens – Nowell
Jack Nowell put his injury frustrations behind him in 2022 and is looking for more of the same in a New Year which contains the lure of the World Cup in France.
The 29-year old Exeter and England wing has enjoyed a run of games for club and country this year. He missed only one of his country's internationals, the autumn victory over Japan, and has been a virtual ever-present for the Chiefs this campaign in the Premiership and the Champions Cup.
“My big focus this year was on staying fit,” said Nowell, who has won 45 England caps and appeared in the last two World Cups. “Sometimes you get freak injuries which you can do nothing about and just have to fight to get back into action, but I hope I have cancelled out the soft tissue injuries and niggles that kept me out.
“I wanted to get out on the field for Exeter and
England as often as possible and I have achieved that. I am on a good path and I know my body very well now.”
Nowell was one of England's vice-captains in the autumn and was a player highly valued by head coach Eddie Jones, below. There is a change of management now with the Australian dismissed earlier this month and Steve Borthwick, who was part of Jones's management team for five years before becoming Leicester's head coach in 2020, has taken over.
“I know Steve from when he was involved with England before, but with a new set up anything can happen,” said Nowell, who was first capped in 2014 under Stuart Lancaster. “It is a blank slate.
“I have to work hard and play well for Exeter. If you put your best foot forward, you give yourself a chance of being selected. I will be k e e ping it simple because I know that nothing will be given to me.”
It has been a mixed season for Exeter who are looking to get back on track after a run of six successive Premiership finals ended last season. They started with three successive victories but then lost three in a row in the Premiership, including a narrow home defeat to Saracens, Saturday's opponents at StoneX Stadium.
But they have won their last five in all competitions, including their opening two matches in the Champions Cup, and while they were hanging on against Bath at Sandy Park last weekend, their build-up had been hampered by an outbreak of flu at the club. “We have got on a little roll and want to carry it on,” said Nowell. “We have won games where we have not been happy with our performance and need to keep pushing on. “There is no bigger test than Saracens away. There is a lot of history between the teams and it is the big one. It will be a challenge for us and we are all excited by it.
“We had to dig in against Bath having got ourselves in good positions only to make mistakes. You have to give them credit for that, but we made it hard for ourselves and they were putting on the pressure in the last 10 minutes. We may have lost the game in recent seasons, but everyone was switched on.
“There had been an outbreak of lurgy in the camp and a few players had colds but everyone wants to play for this team and push themselves.”
Saracens lost their first Premiership match last week after opening with nine victories on a weekend when the top three all lost to the bottom three.
“The league is really close with everyone beating everyone,” said Nowell. “We have put ourselves in a good position in the Champions Cup and are happy with the way the first two matches went, but we need to push on in the Premiership.
“If you sit back, you will miss your opportunity. We are a serious team and there have been matches this season that we felt we should have won and we have also left bonus points out there.
“We want to be further up the table and we are fortunate that it is such a tight league. Our destiny is in our hands and we have an important block of games coming up, starting with the biggest challenge of them all, away to Saracens.”
