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Jack Nowell hoping new boots give La Rochelle wings vs Munster
By Jon Newcombe
Jack Nowell’s footwork deserves even closer inspection this weekend as the La Rochelle winger will wear a pair of specially designed boots for the visit of Munster in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 clash at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
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The hot-stepping Cornishman joined RugbyPass on a Zoom call this week to help promote the Wings for Life World Run, which is raising money and awareness for the spinal cord research foundation. Nowell is participating in the virtual global race himself and anyone who joins his team is in with a chance of winning the one-off boots crafted by artist Jordan Dawson.
Not too many opponents have laid a finger on his regular boots in the competition thus far, the former Exeter Chiefs star having beaten more defenders than any other player in the competition. Already one to catch the eye with his elusive skills and Red Bull headgear, Nowell is now looking forward to giving head coach Ronan O’Gara’s old team the runaround in the fetching bright red and blue footwear, the artwork for which has been inspired by the body’s network of nerves.
Generally, tries have been hard to come by for Nowell since he moved to La Rochelle at the start of the 2023/24 season, but the former England man has never based his game just on that metric, with his industry around the park one of the things that has stood him apart from other wingers over the years.
“I had a bit of a drought, I think it was the majority of games in my first season; I think it was 13. Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to score tries, it is nice to get your name on the sheet, but I don’t score tries for myself, I score them for the team, and I don’t base my career, or how I have played in a game, on whether I have scored no tries or whether I have scored five tries, for me it is about the team winning,” he said.
“I would much rather set up four tries than score one myself. I’d prefer doing other stuff on the field that other wingers might not do – like beating defenders, making my tackles, doing some of the hard yards for the forwards when the forwards are tired, and things like that. I feel like there are a lot more wingers like me now which is awesome to see.”
In France though, fans especially warm to wingers who are known for their try-scoring ability. Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Damian Penaud are the poster boys in that respect, and Nowell has had to get people’s attention in other ways, although a couple of tries in the Champions Cup have helped.
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“One thing I learnt very quickly over here is that the media does look at who scores the tries. If you start scoring tries the media starts to speak about you a bit more, and that’s just the way it is,” acknowledged Nowell, who turns 32 in just over a week.
“Some of the French wingers at the moment are incredible, with (Louis) Bielle-Biarrey and (Damian) Penaud, they score tries for fun. So that’s the other side of it.
“A lot of the time, I am not actually on my wing, I am doing other things on the field, and if that means a back-rower scores in the corner rather than me, then so be it.”
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After a predicted tough start to life in France with three young children needing time to adjust to their new surroundings, Nowell is loving life across the channel and is now showing the sort of form that won him 45 England caps over an eight-year Test career that also included two Lions appearances, and marked him out as a fans’ favourite at Exeter, his only club before the move to the Atlantic Coast.
“My body feels amazing; maybe that’s the warm weather – it is a few degrees warmer over here. ROG (O’Gara) is very good at man-managing and looking after players and making sure you are fresh for the weekend, which makes a big difference. For me, at the minute, I feel like I am playing some of my best rugby. I felt like I played some of my best rugby in the Leinster match here, and to be able to do that at 31, it’s credit to the physios and staff and coaches we have here.”
With the sound of the waves and the bright blue sky in the background as we chat, it is no wonder Nowell looks content. But one thing he is desperate to experience is a trophy tour with La Rochelle. Les Jaune et Noir fans swarmed around the portside to celebrate their heroes when La Rochelle won the Champions Cup back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 – very different scenes to when Nowell’s Exeter won the competition behind-closed-doors at Ashton Gate in Bristol during lockdown.
“To see the parade going through town and the amount of fans that were out on the streets and the boys on the bus with the trophy, that was one of the main reasons I came to the town, because I wanted to be on that bus, I wanted to be a part of that celebration, and that certainly spurs me on to try and win more trophies,” admitted the winger.
“For me, I am never happy just winning one trophy. I was lucky enough to win this competition with Exeter, but even in my last few years with Exeter, I wanted to win it again because once you get a taste of something, it is so good, and you want more of it.
“There is nothing I would like more than to lift the trophy with this team. At the end of the day, they have won it twice, but I have not won it yet with this team, and that is still something I want to achieve.”
La Rochelle have had a patchy Top 14 campaign, to say the least, and have sunk to 10th in the table on the back of a three-month run without a win.
“Momentum hasn’t been amazing for us in the Top 14 but this week we have used it as a chance to freshen up. A new competition, a new team. To get a win here is hard, and we need to make it as hard as possible for Munster, who are a very good team,” Nowell said.
“I think there is a bit of extra spice this weekend with ROG and a couple of other coaches being ex-Munster players as well. This competition means so much to ROG and the team, after winning it twice.”
To enter the competition to win Jack Nowell’s exclusive one-of-one boots, register for the Wings for Life World Run and join Jack’s team by clicking HERE
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