Lewis glad to be back

Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Dave Lewis is hoping to use the club’s European fixtures as a launch pad to get himself back in the starting line-up.

The 25-year-old injured an elbow in pre-season but returned to action in Monday night’s second-team win against Harlequins.

Now the former Gloucester player is hoping to impress in the European Challenge Cup group games against Bayonne and Connacht over the next fortnight.

Rob Baxter’s men travel to France on Friday for Saturday evening’s clash against Bayonne, and Lewis is expecting a real test of his side’s mettle.

“All through the rehab period I have been targeting these European games and trying to get back in the side,” said Lewis. “Obviously my life is not made any easier by the fact the boys have been playing so well, which is great for the squad and we’re in a great position at the moment.

“We’re using Europe to try to kick on and give some boys a rest if they need it and others a chance to play. We’re targeting two wins, but we know Bayonne won’t be easy. French teams, especially at home, are notoriously tough.”

Head coach Baxter is set to make wholesale changes to his starting line-up from the side that beat London Irish 44-24 at home last weekend.

However, there will still be a host of players with a lot of experience in the team and Lewis said they will need to match their teammates’ performances to date.

“One thing that has been very good this year is that the squad depth has been very good,” he said. “Everyone is playing very well at the moment so it’s hard to get in that starting XV, and that’s the way it should be.

“The boys who have played so far have set very high standards so we need to get up to that straightaway. If players do get a chance over these coming European matches it’s up to them to put their name forward and give the coaches a bit of a headache, which is something I want to do over the next couple of weeks.”

Exeter go into the European programme in third place in the Aviva Premiership, having won four of their six matches.

Lewis, a product of Exeter’s academy, said that was better than they had hoped for during the summer.

“We targeted 15 points from the first six games and we’ve obviously exceeded that,” he said, with the Chiefs having accumulated 20 points. Everyone’s happy with being in third but it creates that good pressure of wanting to stay up there and push on.

"Last year we started off very well but slipped off a bit in mid-season, which was a shame. We have that experience already so everyone is desperate not to have that again. We want to improve as a squad and we can only do that by winning matches and taking on those top sides.”