‘Growing up supporting Liverpool, Steven Gerrard was a big inspiration’
Exeter and England’s Sam Simmonds is well on the way to emulating his idol, discovers Kate Rowan
There is an old-fashioned romanticism to Sam Simmonds’s back story; the son of a crab and lobster fisherman who went from Premiership debutant to league winner to England international in the space of a year. The No8 grew up and still resides in the south Devon fishing port of Teignmouth. The same seaside town inspired the Romantic poet John Keats to complete his epic Endymion.
But, in many ways, Simmonds is the very model of the modern professional, playing Xbox in his downtime and admitting to not knowing or understanding too much about his father Dave’s trade. Yet there is a traditional side to the 23-year-old: he is proud to play for his local club and admires one-club men.
This is just the first of many contradictions; take the nature of his maiden Six Nations campaign. After earning his first cap against Argentina in November, he was one of the stars of England’s opener against Italy, scoring a brace. He sustained a shoulder injury against Wales in what was England’s second and final win of the tournament then returned to the bench for the loss against France and started against Ireland.
Eddie Jones, the England head coach, can see the contrary sides to Simmonds, almost 5 st lighter than Billy Vunipola but with speed and a low centre of gravity that make him difficult to defend against. “Life is full of contradictions, and he is one of them,” Jones said. Simmonds seems to have taken the rollercoaster of the Six Nations in his stride. “I would say I am pretty relaxed, I don’t get very tense, but I do get nervous before games. But nerves are pretty good to have, because if you are not nervous you must be doing something wrong.”
Did the experience change him? “It hasn’t changed me but I definitely think it has improved my game. I think I have learnt a lot about myself from a rugby aspect that I can improve and, where I can, keep adding to my game.”
He did, however, gain an unexpected friend in Leicester Tigers prop Ellis Genge. “I was surprised by how well I got on with Genge, as did quite a few of the Exeter boys,” he says.
“I played against him when I was younger, he used to play No8 for Hartpury and for Bristol as well. He was quite an aggressive player, I was always quite wary of coming up against him. But that goes for a lot of players, when you don’t know them as friends, they can come across as a bit scary. When you get to know them, they can be very nice.”
The back row chuckles, telling of how Genge and fellow Exeter Chiefs prop Harry Williams enjoy the odd rapping contest. “Him and Harry like to have a rap-off now and again. In the autumn, they shared rooms and I was in the next room and I could hear them having a little rap battle – I will listen to it, but there is no way I am going to have a go!”
For part of the Six Nations campaign, Simmonds roomed with Bath flanker Sam Underhill. He says of the Bath man: “He is a good room-mate, but we are very different people, I like to sit down and play Xbox, while he likes to read books, but I think it is a good mix.”
Simmonds’s younger brother Joe starts at fly-half for Exeter against Gloucester this afternoon. The 21-yearold has been in impressive club form, putting in a man-of-the-match performance on his first Premiership start against Saracens last month.
The elder Simmonds speaks of his sibling with admiration and hints at familial rivalry. “He’s not scared of me, we fight quite a bit, as we did when we were younger, but once you are in a team together playing toplevel rugby, it is pretty awesome and a proud moment to play with a younger brother.” The Simmonds brothers still live at home with their mother Nicola and 11-year-old halfsister Leah. But the big brother plans to fly the nest.
“I’m looking to move out and Joe said he would come to live with me, but I don’t think Mum would be happy with losing both of us at the same time. He gets a little bit annoyed with me and can be a little bit fiery, but then you can see how calm he is on the pitch, he is quite relaxed as well and doesn’t get too nervous. And you can see how confident he is playing, which is good for us because as, a 10, you need that calm head.”
Keeping up with the contradictions, Steven Gerrard was his childhood sporting hero rather than a rugby player. “People would have asked who my rugby hero would be but, obviously, Jonny Wilkinson was awesome but growing up supporting Liverpool and being a football fan when I was younger, Steven Gerrard was a big inspiration. I was a big fan.
“He was club captain, the things he does on the pitch, he is an all-round player, he can defend, he can go forward, he is a one-club man, what’s there not to love? I wouldn’t obviously be captain, but I like to think I can be a leader on the field in my actions. He is someone to look up to.” Simmonds has already achieved something his hero did not, having won a domestic league title. He could soon add a second.