Battle begins for new-boy Lewis

By Nick Warren

Summer signing Dave Lewis says the battle for an Exeter Chiefs starting berth has begun.

The players returned to pre-season training last week and the former Gloucester scrum-half admits players are already trying to impress the coaches.

The 24-year-old, who hails from North Devon, will be trying to wrestle the number nine jersey from Haydn Thomas, while Will Chudley will also be attempting to do the same after an impressive first term at Sandy Park.

With youngsters Stu Townsend and Rob Coote also training with the club this summer, there are plenty of options at half-back.

"Everyone will be trying to do the same, everyone wants to be a starter," said Lewis. "All the guys here will be working as hard as they can to try to get a start.

"The pre-season games will be a massive deciding factor in determining who starts at the start of the season but all the training leading up to it will also help. All you can do is try as hard as you can every time you train in the hope that at the end of it you get the results you want."

Lewis is one of five additions made by head coach Rob Baxter ahead of the new campaign and four of them (Lewis, Ceri Sweeney, Tom James and Greg Bateman) were given the chance to settle into the squad with a trip to Spain last weekend.
Lewis said that helped him feel at home straight away after six years with Gloucester.

"It's been brilliant so far. The boys are all great and made me feel right at home," he said. "Pre-season has been going on for a week now and I already feel pretty settled here so it couldn't have gone any better really."

He added: "It was perfect to get away [to Spain] and get to know everyone. It was a chance to enjoy ourselves and we did that but now we're back and getting stuck into some hard work."

Lewis was part of the South West England Rugby Academy, before it got taken over by the Chiefs, and there are a few familiar faces at the club from his younger days.

He came through the academy system with prop Ben Moon while coach Rob Gibson was in charge of the base at Ivybridge. However, a lot has happened since then.

"Being the new kid at school almost, there's always things to get used to," he said. "Pre-season is not meant to be easy, it's when the hard work gets done and that doesn't change whatever club you're at."