Nowell touched by level of support

Exeter Chiefs wing Jack Nowell has been touched by the strength of the support he has received from the Westcountry since making his debut in England’s Six Nations campaign.

The 20-year-old, who was born in Truro, was something of a surprise selection for his first cap in Paris at the start of the Championship, but has since proven the wisdom of head coach Stuart Lancaster as England responded to an agonising defeat against France to register back-to-back victories.

The latest came against Ireland at Twickenham last Saturday and Nowell admitted that the support, both from back home and from those there to witness England scrape a nail-biting 13-10 win, was overwhelming.

Nowell said: “The amount of people who are supporting us is incredible. The moment I stepped off the bus, took my headphones off and looked around at the support we had, it was amazing.

“Walking down the tunnel and looking up at the sheer size of the crowd and then singing the anthem is something I’ll never forget.

“The crowd were amazing, I could hardly hear myself think, but I wouldn’t change that for a thing, and I really enjoyed myself out there. I was just trying to take it all in, really, I wanted to enjoy every moment because it’s the first time it’s ever happened to me.

“And my Twitter and Facebook is going crazy. There’s been a lot of support from Penzance and Newlyn, and obviously I’m getting a lot of support from Exeter as well.

“For me, I’m very thankful for that, and my mum and dad are getting a lot of comments at home, and they are very thankful for that too.

“I enjoy going through and seeing what people are saying and looking at the comments, and obviously a lot of them are from Cornwall as well. It’s great to know everyone’s watching and supporting me.”

Nowell has yet to mark his senior England career – still just three Six Nations matches old – with a try, although he did think his chance had come against the Irish inside the first ten minutes. Fellow wing Jonny May, however, chose to go for the line and spilled the ball, when a pass to the Exeter man looked the better option.

Nowell is far from bitter, though, being more than content to place collective glory ahead of personal ambition. He said: “I was like, Jonny, Jonny, give me the ball!

“There were a few opportunities which could have come out to me on the wing but the ball didn’t quite get there, and obviously I had to stay out there to hold the width.

“I was quite happy with a few of my actions out there but we’ll go through that with the coaches. It was obviously important that we got the win, which was absolutely massive. We could have scored two or three tries, maybe, but that’s what we’ll be looking at this week.”