Dawe Ewers: Exeter Chiefs forward relishing role as experienced head in pack

Only prop Ben Moon has been at Exeter longer than Dave Ewers

"Every time I do wear the jersey it's an honour for me," says Exeter forward Dave Ewers.

The 32-year-old back-row is now the second longest-serving player at the club and has pulled on the Chiefs shirt 218 times since his debut in 2009.

Now the Zimbabwe-born forward, who came close to an England cap in 2016, is now the older head guiding the likes of Wales starlet Christ Tshiunza and homegrown forwards Richard Capstick and Lewis Pearson as the next generation of Exeter players start to make their way in the game.

"It is quite scary looking at them and how young they are and it feels like it was just yesterday that that was me," Ewers told BBC Sport.

"It's very exciting for the club and for them with their careers all ahead of them.

"They're already really good players and it's so good to see Christ against New Zealand at the weekend - obviously it didn't go well for Wales, but what an experience it would have been for him and it's certainly going to make him a better player being involved in those massive games for Wales."

Seen as one of the most dominant forwards in the Premiership, it is no surprise that Exeter tend to win more than they lose with Ewers in the side.

He has been there for most of Exeter's big moments - he has played in four of their six Premiership finals and started in both showpiece occasions as the Chiefs completed a domestic and European double in 2020.

"I was very fortunate, I had the likes of Richie Baxter, James Scaysbrook and Tom Johnson who were all starting ahead of me in the back row at the time," Ewers recalls of the experienced heads he looked up to as a young player.

"They were all experienced in the Premiership and over the years for Chiefs, and I was very fortunate to come through at the time I did with all of them.

"They were always there to talk to, so hopefully I can do the same thing now I'm getting to that age."

A young Ewers helped Cornish Pirates make the Championship play-off final in 2012

Ewers first played in a major final in 2012 when dual-registered with Cornish Pirates - having knocked out favourites Bristol over two legs the Pirates were beaten by London Welsh on aggregate in the final as the Exiles won promotion to the Premiership.

He has also seen heartache in a Chiefs shirt - a serious knee injury in 2017 saw him miss the club's first Premiership final victory and possibly cost him an England place, while he missed the 2021 Premiership final after being suspended.

But he says those experiences are what push him to relish every moment at Sandy Park.

"Going back to those years where I was injured for a long time, I think it's important for me to take those lessons and remember how hard it was just watching the whole time and how much I missed it," he says.

"It was a tough time, that injury alone was quite bad, but what made it worse was it was off the back of three other knee injuries too and it started adding up a little bit.

"I've been very fortunate in terms of the support and the trust that's been given to me by both Robs [director of rugby Rob Baxter and forwards coach Rob Hunter] and all the support staff here at the club.

"It does bring you back down to earth a bit, injuries, but I've been fortunate now to have a run of games last year and hopefully it can be the same this year."