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'Thanks for that' - Jack Nowell exits interview after cheeky question

By Ian Cameron
Jack Nowell laughs off the obversation - BT Sport

Exeter Chiefs winger Jack Nowell responded with humour when caught off guard with a cheeky observation from BT Sport’s Sonja McLaughlan during a post-match interview on Sunday.

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The exchange occurred after Exeter’s defeat to La Rochelle in the Heineken Champions Cup in Bordeaux, where Ronan O’Gara’s men had convincingly beat Rob Baxter’s Chiefs 47-28 at the Matmut ATLANTIQUE stadium in front of over 40,000 raucous fans.

Indeed their total of 47 points and seven tries in the win against the Chiefs is a new record for a Heineken Champions Cup semi-final eclipsing Saracens’ 46 points and six tries against ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2014.

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After discussing the game pitchside after the final whistle, McLaughlan referenced rumours that Nowell appears to be set to join La Rochelle next season, stating “You haven’t picked a bad club to come to.”

Rather than being taken aback, Nowell responded with a laugh, saying, “Yeah, yeah, thanks for that!” before exiting stage left. It was a nice moment, the warm exchange being met with laughter from both parties.

Indeed it’s something of an end-of-era for this Exeter squad, who had just one regular season Gallagher Premiership game against London Irish to go after failing to make this year’s play-offs. A huge chunk of the trophy-winning squad is leaving the Devon at the end of term, with many of the team’s top stars choosing to move to France, the URC or just retiring.

Director of rugby Baxter admitted that he would ‘miss’ the star-studded squad he’s assembled.

“I am going to miss these guys because they are amazing players and I count some of them as life-long friends of mine and we have done some incredible things together. We have been on a journey together for 12, 13, 14 years with some of them, but I am also looking forward to next year because I would like to start a journey with some of these other players.”

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

8 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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