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Exeter's comeback update on Jack Nowell 16 weeks after the England winger last played a match
Absent England winger Jack Nowell is expected to be back in action in the next two to three weeks with Exeter following toe ligament surgery last October after his club added Gallagher Premiership title glory to their Heineken Champions Cup success.
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The 27-year-old has since missed out on England clinching the 2020 Guinness Six Nations title and then going on to win the Autumn Nations Cup, while he has also been sidelined from Exeter’s efforts so far to win it all again domestically.
However, 16 weeks on from Nowell’s last appearance, Exeter boss Rob Baxter has now confirmed his player is finally nearing a return to play and is not that far away. “Within the next two to three weeks, in that period,” said Baxter ahead of this Saturday’s Exeter game versus London Irish.
“The trouble is now we have got to watch the day by day process happening and see how the loading process builds because he could do maybe half a session and feel stiff and sore from it and miss another session, you see what I mean, so it’s more how he goes through the stages now more than me putting a timescale on it.
“He’s not far off. He was training Tuesday. Not fully but he was doing some team training, so he is going to creep in now to some team training over a period of a week or so.
The Chiefs tighthead won his first cap in 18 months last Saturday at Twickenham, but is now surplus to requirement #SixNations #ENGvSCO #GallagherPremhttps://t.co/gR9DvE9SLK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 10, 2021
“He just needs to make sure that he gets to a loading level that will avoid him injuring not so much the injury because his toe is okay now, but the more he builds his load slowly so we don’t suddenly see a torn hamstring or a torn calf because he is suddenly training and loading at a level and a speed that he is not used to. We have just got to be careful of the process day by day, slow increments increasing those kinds of things in the correct way.”
It’s now October 2019, versus Argentina at the World Cup, since Nowell last played for England, an ankle injury keeping him out of the truncated Six Nations played last spring before the pandemic shutdown. Exeter have a huge fixtures schedule ahead, with league games scheduled for every weekend through to March 26 when they travel to Gloucester, and Baxter is looking forward to the greater choice that the availability of Nowell will give him.
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“It does give us more options out wide. Jack has also played some midfield stuff for us so it just starts to give more options right across the backline. He can pretty much play across the backline outside of 10 and scrum-half, although I’m sure he would give it a go if we gave him the opportunity. He pretty much adds an extra player across our backline which is great news.’
"We're only worried about ourselves. We're not too worried about Italy"
– The 5?? England changes explained #SixNations #ENGvITAhttps://t.co/3uxR981KYn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 11, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments