Simmonds making all the right moves for England’s No8 position

Exeter forward offers the brains to Billy Vunipola’s brawn in the second row, writes Daniel Schofield

Coaches hate it when journalists focus on individual match-ups within games. Two players in the same position may perform entirely distinct roles and rarely come across each other in direct confrontation.

Nonetheless, it was hard to ignore the symbolism present in a tussle between England’s rival No 8s late on in Exeter’s 14-7 victory against Saracens last Sunday. Saracens’ Billy Vunipola broke off the back of a five-metre scrum, ploughing his way towards the Exeter try-line. Flanker Jacques Vermeulen chopped him down and in an instant Sam Simmonds was over the ball, winning a penalty for not releasing that effectively sealed Exeter’s win.

“It felt like a special victory. You realised how much it meant to the supporters,” said Simmonds (below). “It was not high-scoring, running rugby, but two of the best teams in the Premiership going hammer and tongs.”

Vunipola looked jaded, hardly unsurprising given the roller coaster of the World Cup. He was not the only Saracen in that boat. The effervescent

Simmonds, meanwhile, was back to being what his director of rugby Rob Baxter described as the Chiefs’ “pocket rocket”, bouncing players backwards in attack and defence.

Whether England head coach Eddie Jones pays any attention to club form, which he has previously described as irrelevant to international selection, is another matter. Vunipola offers ballast that Simmonds, nearly four stones lighter, cannot match. Simmonds finds alternative holes, seeking soft shoulders or appearing in the open spaces of the wide channels.

“It is doing the same thing in different ways,” Simmonds said. “I feel if I can still have 15-20 carries in a game then I can be really effective. The more times I get my hands on the ball the bigger effect I am going to have, whether I am are banging boys out of the way or on the edge, whether I am using my footwork or power.”

The mistake Baxter says is made about Simmonds is trying to use him as a square peg to fill the round hole left by Vunipola. “Trying to compare them head to head is virtually impossible,” Baxter said. “If you want to pick him, you pick him for what he’s good for. If you want to pick him because he is playing well for Exeter, but you don’t give him a defined role in the team, that’s probably where you won’t get the true value from him.

“If England want to pick him – and he’s easily good enough to play for England – they have to give him a role where he is on the ball.”

It has taken Simmonds some time to return to this type of form, after eight months out with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Before that, he had played seven matches for England in the 2017-18 season and appeared in the Premiership final. Returning from a long-term lay-off was a frustrating and tentative process.

“The rehab process did get to me,” Simmonds said. “It is hard to motivate yourself to come in early to do the same thing you did the day before for the past couple of months. It takes a long time before you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“I played towards the end of the season last year, but it was off the bench and in my eyes it was a bit early for me. My knee was fine to play, but it is a confidence thing and that takes time.”

Simmonds should have three further opportunities to showcase his talent, starting today with a trip to London Irish in the Premiership before back-to-back Champions Cup matches at Glasgow Warriors and at home to La Rochelle. Europe represents an unconquered frontier for Exeter, whose best previous performance was qualifying for the quarter-finals in 2015-16. This season they are four wins from four in Pool Two and in pole position to claim a home quarter-final.

In that respect, Saracens have provided the benchmark for Exeter to reach. “When you start to compete and do well in the competitions, you get your own identity and you want to do as well as Saracens have, if not more,” Simmonds said. “Winning the Premiership was a huge achievement for us as a team and a massive moment for many individuals, but we have got world-class players who are desperate to win more trophies.

“Last year was a prime example where we probably outplayed Saracens in the Premiership final for 60 minutes and through their game management they crept back into it. As a squad we don’t want to be a team that is known for winning one Premiership. We want to win every competition we are in. We want to win Europe and we have the

squad to do that. “Maybe we are not scoring

as many tries as we did last year, but our all-round game has improved and we are

squeezing teams better. We played Leinster a couple of seasons ago, played really well, but did not find a way to win. It feels like we’re confident in any situation.”

‘If England pick him – and he’s easily good enough – they have to give him a role where he is on the ball ’