Mason hungry for success

By Mark Stevens
2/8/2016

Nick Mason coped manfully with his baptism of fire as Exeter Chiefs won their group to reach the Premiership Rugby Singha 7s Series Finals and the youngster is hungry for more.

Mason, who played his club rugby with Taunton Titans last term, scored in the wins over Bath Rugby and Bristol Rugby at Sandy Park recently.

A calf injury saw him reduced to a cheerleading role for the victory over Wasps which cemented their progress as Group B winners. But Mason expects to be fit for Finals Day at the Ricoh Arena and hopes to get the chance to pull on the Chiefs' jersey once again.

"It's something you dream of to play for Exeter and hopefully it won't be the last time," he said.

"We're off to Coventry for the final, so we'll see how it goes. If I get to put the jersey on again it will be brilliant and I look forward to that.

"It was amazing to play on Saturday. Building up to the day I was nervous, but once I got in the changing room the boys were really good with me.

"I thought I settled in ok. The hardest thing for me was fitness levels, the boys are training a lot. It's hard to maintain that for the whole game, so if a sub came on I was pretty happy to see him at times.

"I need to work on a few skills, but I don't feel a million miles away which is nice."

Exeter certainly made home advantage count, as they hit the ground running with a 36-5 win over Bristol - Mason crossing twice.

Bath were next to be on the losing side, Chiefs running out 33-5 winners, before the vociferous home crowd's perfect day was completed as they took in a thrilling 26-19 win over Wasps.

Mason was in no doubt that those in attendance made a world of difference and hopes they follow the team up to Coventry.

"It would be great if we had good support up there," he added. "When you run out of the tunnel and hear Chiefs' fans it is absolutely brilliant and it really urges you on, so it would be great to see as many people up there as possible.

"I'm unbelievably excited. It should be a great atmosphere and to get a few Exeter fans up there would make it that much more special.

"Coming out to a home crowd at Sandy Park was great and I really enjoyed myself.

"I'd never played in front of a crowd like that before. The noise as we came out the tunnel was massive, it really gives you a buzz and got the boys pumped up and ready."

Eight teams will play for the first silverware of the season in the Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Series Finals at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on Sunday, 7 August. Click here for tickets.

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Quarter-final fixtures:

Quarter Final 1 - Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks

Quarter Final 2 - Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints

Quarter Final 3 - Harlequins v Wasps

Quarter Final 4 - Newcastle Falcons v Ospreys