Tuesday 16 September 2014 15:03, UK
Jack Nowell admitted he had "never felt so good out on a rugby pitch" after making his comeback from shoulder and knee injuries on Monday night.
The England winger - who made his international debut in last season's Six Nations - scored two tries for Exeter in a 45-7 A League victory over London Welsh during a 34-minute appearance, his first action since March.
I've been telling the coaches for the last six weeks that I've been fit and to put me out on to the pitch so I can play.
"I really enjoyed myself out there," Nowell told the club's official website. "I really wanted to try and get back into my own game and I didn't really want to let this break affect me.
"I know the physios and the coaches have been looking after me, but I've never felt so good out on a rugby pitch.
"I've been telling the coaches for the last six weeks that I've been fit and to put me out on to the pitch so I can play.
"But they said I wouldn't be going anywhere until I was 100 per cent, and to be fair I thank them for it now. At the time I wasn't all that happy, but I've had the break I needed and I know from just being out there again how I'm feeling now, and it's great."
Nowell knows his next challenge is to win back his place in the first team at Exeter, no easy task considering the performances the Chiefs have turned in at the start of the new campaign.
They started the new Aviva Premiership season with a 52-0 hammering of new boys London Welsh, then claimed a losing bonus point after going down 24-20 to Leicester at Sandy Park.
"The way the first team are playing, though pre-season and in the two Premiership games, the boys have been playing awesome," he added.
"First things first, if I get another chance in the A League then it's up to me to show what I can do. I just want to carry on playing and try and get my space back on the wing."
