Simmonds relishes battle with Mercer
SAM Simmonds is relishing his personal head-to-head battle with Zach Mercer, the man he will replace as Montpellier’s No.8 next season.
Simmonds is one of three Chiefs players – along with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Harry Williams – to be heading to the reigning Top 14 champions next season and Montpellier fans will be eager to see if he has what it takes to be every bit as good as Mercer.
Mercer was named Top 14 Player of the Year in 2021/22 and has continued that form into this campaign, his last before moving back to England to join Gloucester.
“I’ve got to go out there and fill his boots so to speak. He’s been incredible for Montpellier this last year and a half,” acknowledged Simmonds.
“We are different players. We bring different qualities. But at the end of the day we are No.8s and we want to get our teams on the front foot.
“I’ve played against Zach quite a few times and I know what he is good at and I am sure he knows what I am good at, so it is a battle I am looking forward to.”
While they will be on opposite sides today, Simmonds revealed he sounded out Mercer about his French experience before agreeing to join the reigning Top 14 champions.
“He’d been out there a year when we spoke and he couldn’t speak highly enough about the club, the French lifestyle, the sun, and Montpellier as a whole.
“The only reason he wanted to come back was because he had England ambitions.”
Simmonds has shown his best against Montpellier before, scoring in a thumping 42-6 win at Sandy Park back in 2018 and then crossing for a hattrick in a losing cause when the teams met over in France in January last year.
“Scoring tries I have made part of my game, it is something I love,” said the 28-year-old, who broke the record for most tries in a Premiership season in 2020/21.
“I haven’t probably scored as many as I’d have liked to this season but it is a chance for me to go again this weekend and have a good performance.”
The irony of the last 16 draw hasn’t been lost on the Devonian, either. “I have come up against Montpellier quite a few times in the last few years at Exeter and it was almost meant to be, I guess,” he said.
“It is a game I have been looking forward to for a while, not just because it is against the club I am signing for, but it is another big European game, and I love playing in the big occasions for Exeter Chiefs.
“To play at home, hopefully in front of a big crowd, is something all the boys are really looking forward to, not just me.”
Simmonds’ frustration this season also stems from not getting a chance to add to his 18 England caps during the Six Nations despite being part of the wider squad.
“It was a tough one for me. Mentally it takes its toll because you’re going up on the Sunday and you’re pretty much coming back on the Tuesday to then prepare and play for the Chiefs,” he said.
“It was the same cycle for about eight weeks and it is tough but I am not the first to have done it, there are lot of boys in the same position.”
Simmonds still hopes to feature for England at the World Cup but beyond that, his energy will be devoted to making a go of it in France.
“My England career hasn’t been all plain-sailing; I have had injuries, I have had knock-backs, I have been selected, I have not been selected, it is tough mentally for me and for my family as well so I am happy with my decision to sign for a French club.
“It is a new challenge that I felt I wanted to pursue and it is one I am looking forward to. It is a massive change, I am from Exeter and I have never been to university. I came straight out of college at 18 and signed for Exeter and I have been here for the last 10 years.
That kind of helped me make my decision.
“When I was younger in my career it was something that I always thought I’d love to do, play abroad and experience something else. So when they did come to me, it felt like my decision had already been made.”
As the clock ticks on his decade-long association with the Chiefs, Simmonds wants to leave with his head held high.
“Going out on a high doesn’t just mean winning trophies, it is performance based. I want to push the team forward, I want to push the club forward. I don’t want to leave not performing well and having a lot of ‘what ifs’ in my head. I want to put my best foot forward and if that means winning a trophy, that would be amazing.”