Defeat for Nowell on debut

By Mark Stevens

It's a day that will live with him forever, but even though Jack Nowell's England debut ended in a narrow 26-24 defeat to France in Paris, the Exeter Chiefs starlet was still buzzing come the final whistle at the Stade de France.

A late converted try from replacement Gael Fickou denied England what would have been their biggest ever comeback win in a sensational start to the 2014 Six Nations.

Having conceded a try in the first minute and been 16-3 behind with barely a quarter of the contest gone, England had fought back superbly to lead 24-19 with just four minutes left.

Mike Brown's first Test try and another for debutant Luther Burrell came amid 18 unanswered points as early French dominance gave way to English ascendancy deep into the second half.

However, with the home crowd reduced to near silence France conjured up one final attack to send the home faithful into glorious uproar and hand England only their third Six Nations defeat of Stuart Lancaster's tenure.

Handed his maiden cap by Lancaster in this seasonal opener, 20-year-old Nowell brushed aside some initial jitters to showcase the talents that have made him a firm favourite with all at Sandy Park.

And the Cornishman hopes his on-field efforts have been sufficient enough to ensure he is part of England's plans for their upcoming clash with Scotland at Murrayfield.

"For me there were always going to be nerves because this is something I have wanted for so long," said Nowell after the final whistle. "I made a bit of a mistake at the start and the ball did bounce our way a couple of times, but we didn't panic and we stuck to what we planned to do. I thought we did well to come back after such a strong start from them.

"To be honest I've come off gutted with a few mistakes I made and obviously the end result, but at the same time I'm still excited that I was out there playing with some of the boys that I have played against this season and last season. I'm just looking forward to next week and fingers crossed I can get another start against Scotland."

As one of two debutants in England's starting XV, Nowell was quick to pay tribute to his team-mates who in the build-up to the game had helped to settle his nerves and make him feel part of the international scene.

"Even before I knew I was starting this game and I came into the camp, I felt like one of the boys," he explained. "That was down to the other boys making me feel like that, they didn't treat me like a 20-year-old or the new kid, they treated me as thought I was one of the boys straight away and they made me feel comfortable."

Nowell's appearance in the French capital is just the latest highlight in a rapidly developing career for the former Pirates junior, who last summer was one of five Chiefs' players who helped England to lift the Junior World Championship.

"Obviously it's a different ball game to all that," added Nowell. "Today I was playing against the best players in France, but at the same time also playing with the best players in England. All credit to France, they are a top side and they finished that last try very well. Obviously we're all very disappointed that we've lost the game, especially so late on, but we played some good rugby at times and we'll look to regroup over this next week and come back strongly against Scotland."