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'He gets all the glory, doesn't he, from scoring a couple of tries from two metres out'

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Joe Simmonds has highlighted brotherly love in rugby at its best, initially having a joke at the expense of his Gallagher Premiership’s all-time record-breaking try-scoring brother before going on to properly sing the praises of Sam for the stellar Exeter campaign that has resulted in him getting picked for the Lions tour to South Africa.

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Younger brothers always have a reputation for being cheeky and 24-year-old out-half Joe, the Exeter skipper, is no different checking in at 25 months younger than his No8-playing 26-year-old sibling who has lit up the Premiership with his terrific haul of 20 tries which eclipsed the previous best mark of 17.   

“He gets all the glory, doesn’t he, from scoring a couple of tries from two metres out,” quipped Joe at this week’s Exeter media briefing ahead of Saturday’s final versus Harlequins at Twickenham. “No, no, credit to him. He is always in the right positions and it takes a lot of hard work to score those tries, especially 20 of them or whatever it was. 

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“He has been brilliant. Not just him on a personal level but for the team as well. The great thing is the team want him to score those tries, the team really wanted him to break the record. It was a credit to how hard he has worked in these last couple of years and now he has reaping the rewards with the Lions and stuff like that. Fair play to him, to score 20 tries this season is pretty crazy.”

As you can tell, the Simmonds boys like winding each other up but there no hesitation either if a sharp word needs expressing if it is for the good of the team at Exeter. “We can’t be too serious with each other. We obviously know when to say the right thing. If he is not doing something I’m not scared to tell him and the same with me, he can tell me to do something so I think that is where we kind of grow as players because we are not scared to get into each other.”

Looking at the Exeter evolution, Joe Simmonds wouldn’t have struck you as captaincy material a month after his 23rd birthday, but there was no fuss made when Rob Baxter told the youngster he was being given the responsibility for an away Heineken Champions Cup game at Glasgow in January 2020 and no long chat about it since either. The role has just stuck and having captained the Chiefs to double glory last October, the chance exists now to skipper the club to back-to-back league titles.  

“Someone might have dropped out through the week and it was like a Wednesday afternoon, I was eating my food and he [Baxter] came up to me and said that you will be skipper this week,” said Simmonds, explaining how the captaincy role came about. “He was pretty chilled to be fair. 

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“At the time I was ‘it’s brilliant’ but I went home and thought about it and I had never really captained the side other than being at school and I never thought I was capable of doing it. I was always quite a shy person, just wanted to sit back and let other people talk, but having been captain for a year in games I have definitely grown as a player.

“It has definitely helped me as a leader and as a person as well, whether it is talking off the field or whatever it is. It’s something I really loved doing now but to fair, there has been no conversation since then about captaincy at all. I’m just taking it game by game and enjoying it and they are giving me the belief that I can do it. 

“My job is very easy. Although I have got the C next to my name throughout the week there are so many leaders when it is Henry Slade, Jack Yeandle, who is club captain as well, you have got Stuart Hogg, who is Scotland captain. For me, it’s very easy. I sit back and let them do some of the talking. When I feel like I need to talk I will come in and talk. I’m a captain that tries to lead by actions on the weekend and don’t talk too much.”

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J
JPM 1 hour ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

Unfortunately you don't know anything about French rugby, coaches and players but still making a lot of assumptions and judgements to push your prefabricated and simplistic point of view that Dupont is manipulating everything and is a bad guy. I am not a NZ rugby specialist and wouldn't dare make such theories about what is going on within the ABs team. Therefore my advice to you is to do like Dupont and stay humble when you don't know all the background of the issues !!!


Firstly if you knew a bit of Galthié, he is not the type of coach who is going to ask advice to his players and even his captain about team selection. He is as stubborn as you...


Second Ramos has played a lot of times as 10 with Toulouse and therefore Dupont (in particular when Ntamack is injured and unfortunately it has often happened recently and for long periods). He even played 10 during the last 3 games of the 2024 6N and this was far better performance than the first two games with Jalibert as 10.


Thirdly Jalibert lacked of respect to a La Rochelle player so your theory is once again out.


Fourth as I explained to you Galthié went for a 6-2 bench and Jalibert can only play 10 which doesn't fit that plan. Furthermore as 15 Buros is better under high balls than Ramos and everybody is prepared for a tactical kicking game.


So you can blame Galthié for a lot of things (as you clearly enjoy doing at the end of your post and you should be very happy as an AB fan) but certainly not Dupont. Sorry once more for your conspiracy theory.


And don't worry about potential disharmony in the French team; they are excellent mates around their captain. Jalibert is well known in the French rugby circles to have not a strong character (and we saw that in the WC quarter finals as he is very nervous in any decisive international game unlike Ntamack and Ramos as for his late penalty kick vs England this year).


In conclusion enjoy the game tmrw night. It is good that the ABs are very upset; we should watch a great game of rugby. I hope for running rugby and not too much kicking. With 5 key players injured on our side (Ntamack, Baille, Atonio, Cros and Penaud) and 2 on your side I and various French fans see you as favourites. I obviously hope for another result.


If you are interested you can read a good article in the Guardian on the subject of France-NZ games.

92 Go to comments
K
KB 1 hour ago
The 'one difference' between Boks and the back-to-back All Blacks

Consistency hasnt been there they have many great players SA were also not unbeaten in the 2023 WC - NZ were in 2015 WC McCaw and Carter Nonu and Smith - SA did not have those Marque players in those postions in 2019 or 2023 - I wouldnt rank them ahead of the 20I5 ABs - They clocked up 60 points against France in the QF - Furthermore I do not believe for one moment SA won 2023 fairly no way - they were so favoured it became obvious that behind the scenes SA the nation bought the title - Their last 3 matches were won by a solitary point there were many contentious decisions that went their way that it became obvious it wasnt coincidence - Sport has been hijacked by a satanic cult just as is Politics

Some players coaches officials and sponsors are involved - they know who they are - its called Freemasonry - any sport that allows betting is corrupt - its not all about money either for these parasites its also about control - Lots of American NFL players have spoken openly about games being scripted - Football is also rigged Referees have been caught on film showing freemason hand signs - The 95 RWC final ranks as the highest and most obvious attempt at cheating There was no way SA were going to allow NZ to gate crash Nelson Mandelas reunification party - NZ were so good they had to posion almost the entire team to get a 3 point win - a Hollywood Movie ( theres your Red Flag ) was made about SAs triumph called Invictus


William Henley wrote a poem called Invictus


It starts


Out of the night that covers me BLACK ( All Blacks ) as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever GODS maybe for my unconquerable Soul ...( Olan says INVICTUS is an evil Malevolent entity who corrupted the Titans ... this is Mandelas double meaning speech ( hes a fraud ) - of thanks for helping overcome SA's adversary NZ - There is only ONE true God Yahuah - Only a false god would be complicit in Cheating Corruption and Harming others to win a RWC for a sick and sinful Nation ) the poem ends with


I am the CAPTAIN of my soul


SA will forever bear the stain of guilt and disgrace over their involvement in poisoning the ABs a day before the 95 RWC Final

13 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

92 Go to comments
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