Hard-talking Ewers expects a response
By Mark Stevens
30/1/21
Dave Ewers says a few home truths expressed in the past fortnight has helped put Exeter Chiefs back on track as they prepare to resume Gallagher Premiership action against Worcester Warriors today (3pm).
Back-to-back losses against Wasps and Bristol Bears saw the defending champions surrender pole position before play was suspended for two weeks as Europe looked to get to grips with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
With a clean bill of health reported across the top-flight in their latest testing - and the Chiefs having used the enforced break to regroup, the Zimbabwean-born forward believes the Chiefs are in a good place ahead of their trip to Sixways.
“With those two losses it was clear we weren’t in the right place mentally and our performances showed that,” said Ewers. “These last two weeks, however, the rest has been good for us. We’re a lot more positive and we’re concentrating on those little things that make us good.
“We put a lot of things out on the table amongst each other and now we’re refreshed and ready to go again. I think it shows how far we have come as a squad, both players and coaches, that we can be all honest with ourselves and we can iron out things when we’re not happy.
“I guess what we’ve done is taken a step back, looked at a few things and now we’re ready to move on.”
Up against familiar foes in Worcester, the 30-year-old forward knows the Warriors will pose a creditable threat to the Chiefs in this Round Seven encounter.
“Worcester is always a tough place to go,” warned Ewers. “They’re a tough side, so it will be up to us to go up there and get after things. We’ve got a massive period of games coming up. Eight weeks is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, so right now we’re concentrating on Worcester and then we’ll move onto Newcastle next week.
“We won’t look too far ahead, it’s the here and now which counts the most. It’s exciting times for us all, but the proof will be in the pudding on Saturday. We can talk as much as we like about what we want to achieve, but it’s down to us to go out and perform on the day.”
As one of the club’s longest-serving players, the imposing back-row forward is no stranger to what has made the Chiefs so successful in recent times and he is keen for the club to enjoy more victories moving forward.
“After last season, I guess the aim this season is to chase it all over again,” continued Ewers. “Winning the two finals last season was incredible, especially having lost a fair few finals to Saracens in the past. Winning Europe first up, it definitely took a big weight of my shoulders, I was just relieved to win a final.
“It was a special few weeks for all of us, emotional in some ways, but when I look back at it, there is a lot of pride there for me and I feel so honoured to have achieved it with this group of boys.”