Simmonds siblings have sights set on double glory
WHEN Joe Simmonds pl onks hi mself down next to his brother Sam for this interview wearing his Manchester United shirt, you get the feeling it is mostly to annoy his sibling.
Liverpool fan Sam, who, at 25, is two years older than Joe, spent most of his childhood trying to stick his brother back in his box.
Talking about the European Cup final can wait. Old scores need to be settled first.
‘One time at school...,’ Sam starts off. ‘I feel really bad about this...’
‘No, he doesn’t!’ Joe cuts in before Sam resumes bashfully. ‘I kneed him in the leg so hard...’ ‘In front of everyone in the lunch queue!’ Joe cries with dismay.
‘...in front of a lot of people,’ agrees Sam. ‘ To put him back in line. As soon as I did it I felt bad — he couldn’t walk! It wasn’t very nice but at the time I thought: “He’s having it”. I think it was a classic case of...’
‘ Sam showing off in f ront of everyone?’ Joe interjects.
‘No, no. Joe was trying to show me up in front of my friends. I thought I’d give him a lesson.’
Joe was no saint, mind. ‘One time we played football and I slapped him in the face,’ he smiles. ‘The next minute he’s on top of me making me eat grass! We were competitive, weren’t we? We both loved sport.’
‘Both wanted to be the best,’ adds Sam. ‘ Weekends were football for Broadmeadow STFC and rugby for Teignmouth RFC, if we could do both. I had a couple of seasons up top in f ootball and was quite prolific.’
‘He’s terrible!’ exclaims Joe, trying to set the record straight.
‘I slowly moved back to playing centre-back at 14,’ explains Sam. ‘Playing together now probably gives us an edge. When we were younger we wanted to be better than each other but now it’s doing well for the club.’
‘We want each other to be better,’ confirms Joe (far right, with Sam).
Together, the Teignmouth tyros are making waves. Sam the No 8 and Joe the Exeter captain and f l y- half will run out today at Ashton Gate against Racing 92 in the C h a mpi o n s Cup final bursting with Devon pride.
Ahead of the most significant fortnight in Exeter’s history, with t wo t r ophies on t he l i ne on consecutive Saturdays, it would be understandable if these local Chiefs felt the pressure.
When the European Cup started in 1996, the club was in Courage League Division Four playing Clifton, Redruth, Havant and Aspatria.
Fourteen years and four promotions later, the brothers were there to watch Exeter seal a fifth leap, up to the Premiership, after a play- off victory over Bristol in 2010.
‘We watched a lot of Exeter playing in the Championship,’ explains Joe. ‘It’s a credit to the coaches and who they’ve brought in but also the culture of the club. We’re all like a family.’
A largely homegrown one, too. The team that beat Toulouse in the semi-finals included eight starters from Devon and Cornwall. But, having suffered the heartache of losing three league finals to a Saracens side they feel cheated them out of titles, these Chiefs are no wide-eyed wanderers any more.
‘A couple of years ago, it would have been a dream to just make the final,’ says Sam. ‘But I think I speak for everyone that the dream is to win the European Cup and the Premiership.’
And now the pair have stopped their sibling scraps, they are able to talk openly about their love for each other and joy to be doing this together. Sam is up for European Player of the Year, having missed most of the previous season with a horrendous knee injury, and Joe is desperate for him to win it.
‘He deserves it,’ adds Joe. ‘ He’s the best player I’ve seen play. It’s a testament to him. I’m glad I’m not playing against him.’ Sam returns the compliment: ‘I was very proud of the first time we took the pitch together. I’m proud of him leading out Exeter. Hopefully he can lift two cups f or us this year.’