Simmonds out to right wrongs of Wasps loss

DEFEATS stick in the minds of Exeter Chiefs players, that’s what happens when losing is a rarity, writes John Eveley.

Despite a summer of career highs with the British and Irish Lions, Exeter’s star number eight Sam Simmonds revealed he has not forgotten the 34-5 defeat he and Chiefs suffered at the Coventry Building Society Arena back in January.

That day Exeter headed to Coventry without internationals Luke Cowan-Dickie, Harry Williams, Jonny Gray, Jonny Hill, Sam Skinner and Henry Slade. And while Gray is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, the rest of the international cohort, plus Stuart Hogg are all set to make amends tomorrow, says Simmonds.

He said: “Going to Wasps is always a notoriously tough place to go. We didn’t play well up their last season and we need to go and right some wrongs.

“It will be tough, it always is, but that’s kind of what you expect every week at this level.”

Wasps come into the game having beaten Northampton Saints 26-20 last Sunday to move up to fifth in the table after four rounds, one place ahead of Exeter who thrashed Worcester Warriors 42-5 at Sandy Park in a real statement of a performance.

Simmonds, making his first club appearance of the season against Warriors, continued where he left off last season for Chiefs, scoring a brace of tries.

In 2020/21 Simmonds broke the Gallagher Premiership singleseason try-scoring record with 20 touchdowns, on his way to being named the league’s player of the season.

Having watched from the sidelines as an underpowered Chiefs side narrowly lose their opening two games, Simmonds and his Lions teammates are looking to make an impact on club duty before likely leaving on international duty again with England in the Autumn internationals as Exeter bid to reclaim their crown as the best club in England having lost 40-38 to Harlequins’ in last season’s Grand Final.

He said: “If you want to be a great team, you have to be honest with one another and drive standards

“It’s not just the guys who have been away coming back in, it’s every player in the squad. If we want to be the best team in England and Europe, we need to drive those high standards. We have to push on again.”