Nowell pushes England claims

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes Jack Nowell has a genuine shout of featuring for England in this season’s Six Nations after the Cornishman helped his side power past Newcastle Falcons in the Aviva Premiership.

Nowell, playing again in the centre, claimed Exeter’s opening try as they ran riot at Sandy Park in a six-try, 46-17 victory.

The 21-year-old was one of the stand-out figures for the Devon club, producing an impressive display that will no doubt have been noted by England head coach Stuart Lancaster.

The Truro-born back has been training with England ahead of their opening two Six Nations games against Wales and Italy - and he is poised to return to camp again when they meet up ahead of the away trip to Ireland in a fortnight.

And post-match at Sandy Park, Baxter was quick to talk up the hopes of Nowell. He said: “Right now we have a full squad who are desperate to get on the rugby pitch. Jack is disappointed that he is not involved with England, but it was great to see him looking so hungry and sharp out there today.

"You can see he is getting use to carrying that extra bit of muscular weight that he has put on during his time off. And I think if anyone analyses his performance today, then he is probably in with a shout of featuring for England in the next few weeks."

But it is not just Nowell who is bang in form at the moment, Baxter believes there are others within his squad who are hitting top form, including imposing back-row forward Dave Ewers (pictured).

“Dave is putting in some big performances this season,” added the Chiefs coach. “I think the big thing from his this season is his consistency. Again he was very good for us today and I thought he was outstanding for the Saxons over in Ireland the other week.

“He was probably man of the match for me and he was the big strong guy in the pack. As he is maturing, he is showing a good level of consistency. He stops people on the game line and he gets us over the gain line.”

Baxter added: ‘Yes, he’s probably a bit under the radar at the moment, but i know Stuart Lancaster was very pleased with how he played for the Saxons and if he keeps putting in performances like today, it’ won’t be long before he moves up the pecking order.”