Mixed feelings for Lewis
Scoring your first try for your club is always a special mention, but Dave Lewis admitted his celebrations were somewhat curtailed by the fact Exeter Chiefs slipped to a last-gasp defeat at Aviva Premiership rivals London Wasps.
With just 70 seconds played at Adams Park on Sunday, the scrum-half spotted a gap in the home defensive line before scampering under the sticks to give his side a dream start.
The Chiefs built on that early score and by half-time were 13-3 to the good thanks to further kicks from fly-half Henry Slade, who himself was making his first-ever start in the top flight.
Sadly, the visitors failed to build on their advantage and as Wasps hauled themselves back into the game through two Andy Goode penalties and a converted Joe Simpson try, the Chiefs were ultimately undone at the death when the experienced Goode slotted a 40-metre drop-goal with the kick of the game.
For Lewis - a summer signing from Gloucester - the delight of claiming his maiden score were quelled by the fact he and his team-mates had come unstuck.
“We were pretty good in the first half and executed what we had talked about in the week well, but in the second half errors and ill-discipline really cost us the game,” said the 24-year-old scrum-half. “Rob [Baxter] said afterwards that we were actually quite lucky to be drawing [near the end] or within a losing bonus point, and that comes down to our second-half performance, and that needs to improve for next week.
“It was not a horrendous match for us, though. There are a lot of positives to take from it, moving forward.”
Lewis has been involved in all but two of Exeter’s 12 league games this season, starting six of them, and the former Ivybridge Community College student is really enjoying life at Sandy Park.
“It has been brilliant. They are a great bunch of boys and we have a lot of fun. It is a very easy club to settle in at, and for me personally it has gone very well,” explained Lewis. “However, we need to improve the results we have been getting over the last couple of months [seven defeats in eight games].
“We have been playing pretty well, but we have been playing against some of the better sides and coming up just short, so it is small margins really. There were a couple of penalties at Wasps that could have gone either way, and there were a couple of our kicks that were just out by a matter of inches, and that caused them to get the field positions to get their points.
“If those go our way, then potentially it is a different result. Sladey [Henry Slade] was also held up over the line, and all those things went against us. When it is going for you, it creates a flattering scoreline as such, but unfortunately at the moment it is not going for us. We need to put our heads back down, and keep working hard and try and produce a winning performance next week.”
Next up for Lewis and the Chiefs is a month of Cup action, starting with this weekend's visit of Glasgow Warriors to Sandy Park in the Heineken Cup.
Currently positioned third in the Pool Two standings, the Chiefs are aware victories over the Scotsmen and Cardiff Blues a week later could potentially enable Devon's finest to claim a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
“Glasgow played us at Sandy Park in pre-season and beat us, and we learnt from that,” said Lewis, who spent six years at Gloucester. “Our Heineken Cup group is not over, so it is a massive game for us, and it will be a massive game for the club and the fans as well. We are really looking forward to it, and hopefully we can produce the right result.”
Pictures: Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency
