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England's Nowell hopes scrum switch just a temporary measure
England's Nowell hopes scrum switch just a temporary measure
Jack Nowell was happy to bolster England's pack as an emergency measure but has no intention of moving off the wing and into the forwards on a permanent basis following a scrum stint against Ireland.
England found themselves a man down after just 82 seconds when lock Charlie Ewels was sent off at Twickenham on Saturday but defended superbly before Ireland pulled away late on to win 32-15 and end the hosts' Six Nations title bid.
With 20 minutes left, the match was all square at 15-15, with all of England's points coming from penalties kicked by Marcus Smith.
The fly-half was able to keep England in the game mainly because a reshuffled pack forced Ireland into scrum infringements, with Nowell joining the back row to compensate for the loss of Ewels.
During the game, Nowell switched between wing and flanker in a move first suggested by England coach Eddie Jones back in 2019.
England captain Courtney Lawes joked afterwards that Nowell is "more of a flanker anyway", but the Exeter flyer was keen to remain among the back-line.
"Nah, I don't think so! I enjoy the open space a bit more and enjoy getting my hands on the ball, although I'm not saying a back row can't do that," said Nowell.
Reflecting on his set-piece experience against Ireland, he added: "We were down to 14 men and we wanted to go for the scrum.
"Our pack got a sense of what could happen, so we decided to stick with eight. It was my job to fill in that back-row gap. Sometimes it pays off. Sometimes it doesn't.
"I kept saying to (England prop) Ellis Genge after each scrum: 'Was that OK? Are you happy with that?'.
"The forwards gave me good feedback and the job becomes a lot easier when you have guys like Genge and Kyle Sinckler there, and Courtney Lawes beside me."
Ireland's record Twickenham win saw them outscore England four tries to nil yet Nowell was proud of a gutsy effort by his side.
"You live for games like that because that was a real Test match," he said. "It's why we play rugby. Going down to 14 men is a big challenge, but this team are very much together and we dealt with it very well.
"It shows what it means to us and what it means to this team, it showed that we are willing to fight for everything and for every inch."
A. Williams--BTZ
