Jack Nowell says playing for La Rochelle has given him a new lease of life as he bids to help them beat Munster and reach the Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals.
The former Exeter Chiefs and England winger made the move to the Top 14 outfit in the summer of 2023 and his young family initially found the relocation difficult.
But Nowell has thrived on the field, his family have gradually settled on the west coast of France and he extended his stay with the two-time Champions Cup winners until 2027, when he will be 34.
Ahead of Saturday’s Round of 16 Champions Cup home clash with Munster, Nowell is loving life with Ronan O’Gara‘s men.
Feels brilliant
The 31-year-old Cornishman, a European Cup winner with Exeter in 2020, told Planet Rugby: “I feel better than I have done for a long time in my career.
“I went through a stage at Exeter of always being in big games but I picked up so many injuries and needed operations in the summer.
“I just went into a cycle of ‘injury, operation, rehab’ and fighting to get back and stay fit.
“Luckily for me I was always there for the big games at Twickenham and European finals, so I can’t complain too much.
“But I just feel a bit different out here. Whether it’s the change of environment, the weather, or the change in training at my age, I feel great.
“I’m playing good rugby at the moment, my body feels brilliant, and ROG is very good at looking after his players and knowing what’s needed.
“The Top 14 is such a long season and I feel like I’m in a really good place.”
O’Gara played in 240 matches and scored 2,625 points in his illustrious career where he established himself as perhaps the greatest player to ever play for Munster for nearly two decades from 1997-2013.
His La Rochelle side, who are 10th in the Top 14, face a mountainous task to beat the Irishman’s former club.
“Our league form isn’t the best at the moment, so to beat Munster would be massive,” added Nowell.
“But that’s the beauty of the Champions Cup – you can use the momentum from winning league games or as a fresh start in a new competition.
“We have mixed it up a bit this week and this competition is massive, not only for the history that ROG has in it – winning it back to back with La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023.
“I saw the bus and trophy parade from afar on social media, so I’m desperate to help the club achieve that again.
“It looked amazing and I’ve spoken to the boys about it who all said it was unbelievable.
“I’ve loved to help us create more history but there’s a hell of a long way to go before we can start thinking about that.
“Munster are a pretty awesome team and their history speaks for itself.
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“But if there’s a team who know how to win it then it’s our team.
“I had my success at Exeter and that’s why I wanted to come to La Rochelle and play for ROG.
“They had obviously just won two back-to-back European Cups and hadn’t won the Top 14 but straight away ROG was talking about winning more trophies.
“The ambition from the club comes from the top and that spurs me on to help deliver more success.”
Nowell, meanwhile, will wear a specially designed pair of boots against Munster for the 2025 Wings For Life World Run which is raising money and awareness for the spinal cord research foundation.
Red Bull athlete Nowell will then offer the one-of-a-kind boots, crafted by award-winning artist Jordan Dawson as a prize to one lucky, randomly-selected, member of his Wings for Life World Run team after the match.
To enter the competition and potentially win the exclusive one-of-one boots, participants must register for the Wings for Life World Run and join Nowell’s team via this link.
‘Pretty cool’ boots
Nowell said: “Spinal cord injuries are such a big thing that can happen to a person or a family – you don’t expect them to happen to you.
“To have a charity like Wings for Life who are raising awareness and research into spinal cord injuries is amazing.
“I’ll be wearing a pair of boots this weekend which have been custom-made for me, which is pretty cool.
“I’m only going to wear them once and then auction them off afterwards to raise money and awareness for the charity.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/jack-nowell-hails-ronan-ogara-as-la-rochelle-aim-to-swing-seasons-momentum-against-munster
