Simmonds spells out seasonal plan
By Mark Stevens
3/10/22
Sam Simmonds insists he wants to ‘go out with a bang’ in what will be his final season with the Exeter Chiefs.
The England and British Lions forward confirmed recently that he will be departing Sandy Park at the end of the season to take up a contract with French Top14 side, Montpellier.
Just when the 27-year-old will make his move across the English Channel will depend on how Simmonds fares this season - and whether his on-field efforts will be enough to secure him a place in Eddie Jones’ England squad for next year’s Rugby World Cup.
Simmonds, alongside club-mates Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell and Patrick Schickerling, have all joined up for this week’s England training camp ahead of the Autumn internationals, which get underway on November 6 with the visit of Argentina to Twickenham.
The Torquay-born forward has won 14 Test caps to date, but knows his move to Montpellier will put a halt to that tally as England do not select players featuring outside of this country.
“I know my decision will stop my England ambitions, but there is still a long way to go this season,” explained Simmonds. “Right now, I’ll be doing everything in my power to play well for Exeter and whatever happens with selection after that, I’ll know I’ve done my best to try and be included.
“Making the move away from Exeter was a tough decision for me, but I’m fully focused on playing well for the club this season. The love I have for this team and for the club as a whole, it wasn’t easy, but there comes a time when you have to make big decisions.
“In the past I’ve stayed here, but now this is an exciting move for me. I’ve got a young family and the move really appeals to me. It’s a new challenge and I’ve always spoken about as you get older, you have to try new experiences. I’m a Devon boy, whose only lived in Devon, but I want to go out with a bang at Exeter and keep pushing hard for England.”
Simmonds - who has scored 80 tries in 114 appearances for the Chiefs - made his first start of the season in Saturday’s narrow 28-20 Premiership loss away to Sale Sharks.
He admitted the loss was tough to take, particularly given the visitors had started the game so well, scoring an early try through skipper Cowan-Dickie.
“To be honest, we’re frustrated with the outcome,” he added. “The first 20 minutes we put real pressure on them, we kept the ball and we showed that by the points we scored. We then relaxed a little and that let them back into the game. Against a good side like Sale, especially at home, you can’t afford to do that.
“As a group - and the coaches said it as well - we just didn’t do what we said we would do in the week. We were good for that initial part of the game, but then we lost the momentum and aside from a little bit in the second half, we didn’t impose our game on them for long enough.”
Next up for the Chiefs is Friday’s short trek up the M5 to local rivals Bristol Bears, who themselves were undone at the weekend at the hands of Newcastle Falcons.
Simmonds knows from past experience that the Bears will be tough nut to crack and says some key learnings need to be taken on board ahead of kick-off at Ashton Gate.
“It’s a short turnaround again, so first and foremost we need to make sure we recover well from this game,” he said. “Where we went wrong we’ll talk about this week - and look to put it right against Bristol. It will be tough, it always is up there, and with a 20,000 crowd, we know they are going to be a different animal to that of last week. It’ll be up to us to focus on what we do and implement our game onto them.”