'We've nothing to lose' - Nowell
By Mark Stevens
17/1/19
Jack Nowell insists Exeter Chiefs have ‘nothing to lose’ ahead of Saturday’s crunch Heineken Champions Cup clash with Munster at Thomond Park (5:30pm).
Rob Baxter’s side will make their first-ever visit to Limerick knowing a bonus point victory will see them advance into the last eight of Europe’s top club competition for only the second time in their history.
Equally, should Exeter record a victory of any kind and deny their Irish hosts any kind of bonus point of their own, that too will see them through to the quarter-finals.
However, overcoming Munster on their own patch is no formality.Just four sides in 19 years of the competition have achieved such a feat, but it’s a challenge Nowell and his Exeter team-mates are clearly relishing ahead of kick-off.
“If you’re going to back any team to go over there and do it, then lots of people would back us,” said the Cornishman, who marked his return to action against Castres last Sunday by scoring the first of Exeter’s six tries on the day.
“We’ve got nothing to lose.If we go out and we’re shy and afraid to play, then we’re going to lose.If we go out and attack the game, play the way we do, and we give it our all, then we will see what happens come the final whistle.
“Everyone knows this competition brings good out of players. It’s a big test for us, against a top side, but it’s one we’ll enjoy and really go after.”
Sidelined since the autumn with a hamstring injury sustained whilst on international duty with England, Nowell wasted little time in reminding folk of his undoubted talent against the French champions. He took just three minutes to waltz his way to the try-line as the Chiefs claimed a vital victory to keep their European aspirations alive going into the final round of qualification.
It was a happy return for the British & Irish Lion, who hopes his injury woes are behind him and that he can kick on for both the Chiefs and England in the coming weeks and months.
“The injury in the autumn hit me hard,” he explained. “I had spent a lot of time in the off season trying to get myself ready for the season.It was just gutting when it happened because I knew how hard I had worked and that I would be missing some big games.
“The last six, seven weeks I’ve been desperate to get back and I’ve been head-butting a bit with the physios about when I could come back and play. That said, I’m over the moon with how the Castres game went and how both myself and the boys went.”
Now, Nowell - who is one of six players named in Eddie Jones’ England squad set to prepare for their Six Nations opener against Ireland - is hoping to build on that display against a Munster outfit, who warmed up for this weekend’s tussle with a powerful, bonus point victory away to Gloucester last time out.
“Right now I’m not thinking too much about England,” he added. “I’ve worked hard to get back playing for Exeter and then I’ll see what happens after that. We had a big game against Castres last weekend and now we’ve got an even bigger one against Munster this weekend.
“As a team we used last week’s game as a kind of knock-out game, where we knew we had to win, and it will be the same against Munster.It’s make or break for us now, so we’ve just got to go out and attack it as best we can.”
The Chiefs will confirm their match-day squad for Saturday’s clash tomorrow at noon.