Simmons stitched up by baby son

RUGBY UNION: After playing with just one hour’s sleep following the birth of his first child, Waratahs lock Rob Simmons fell asleep in the Brookvale Oval changing rooms while getting stitches for a headcut midmatch last Thursday.

Simmons was being treated after a head clash in the trial match against Melbourne Rebels when the fatigue overwhelmed him.

NSW forwards coach Simon Cron conceded Simmons should not have started the match, because the comfortable 47-5 win over Melbourne masked concerning lineout issues throughout the match that will be targeted in their opening Super Rugby match by the Stormers on Saturday.

“He is our lineout chief. He’d welcomed his first baby at 1am and had one hour’s sleep. He fell asleep getting stitches,” Cron said.

“We shouldn’t have played him. When you’re a first-time dad, we know the first one is a game-changer.

“I knew he’d had the baby but I should have talked to him longer. If I had heard he had one hour’s sleep I would have made the decision for him.”

Simmons and his wife Lucy welcomed son William Robert Simmons at 1am, and he was running out against the Rebels at 6.45pm.

NSW’s lineout was successfully targeted numerous times, with Melbourne winning their opponents’ throw three times in the first 15 minutes.

There were issues with call- ing and jumping throughout, and South Africa’s Stormers will certainly contest NSW’s throws at Allianz Stadium.

“We will fix it between now and the Stormers,” Cron said. “Because we have to.

“They were certainly off the mark. The time to set up was long and we were also really slow to jump.

“Our whole job in the forwards is to be faster than other teams, and we will be on Saturday.”

Simmons, NSW’s highprofile recruit for 2018 from the Queensland Reds, will be managed this week to ensure he is well rested for the first game, but who partners him in the second row – Tom Staniforth or Ned Hanigan – won’t be decided until training later in the week.

Cron also expects more aggression from his pack when they lock horns with a Stormers side featuring Springboks Siya Kolisi, Nizaam Carr and Steven Kitshoff, as well as superstar backs Damian de Allende and Seabelo Senatla.

“We have got to want to hit them,” Cron said.

“We’ve got [captain Michael Hooper] who is always up in the line.

“He wants to hit everything. “We’ve got that in our forward pack and our finishers [off the bench] have got to be as hungry.

“[The Stormers] will try to punch holes in us. They will be quite direct.

“They’ve actually got some very dynamic and fast outside backs and they will move the ball out wide.”