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The fallout at Exeter three days on from that bizarre Joe Simmonds conversion gaffe

(Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Exeter boss Rob Baxter has drawn a line under the red-faced finish suffered by Joe Simmonds in last weekend’s Gallagher Premiership defeat. With Chiefs down by a point, Northampton players charged down a conversion attempt to win the game in a bizarre fashion. 

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There were initial arguments that what Saints did was illegal but they were proven to be within their rights to race from the try line and kick the ball away off the tee as Simmonds had taken a slight step after he initially set himself to take the kick. 

Once a player originally sets himself, the opposition can run forward when he next moves and this is what Northampton did after seeing Simmonds take a slight step and stop after he had already composed himself for the kick.    

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The mishap consigned defending champions Exeter to their third Premiership defeat in their last six outings but Baxter avoided criticising his young out-half when he revisited the incident on Tuesday three days after it took place. “He [Simmonds] has taken it okay,” reported Baxter when asked if the fall-out from how Exeter lost their latest match had affected his player given it has been much-talked-about and debated online since it happened.

“The only advice I gave him on Saturday – and I don’t think it works that much in the modern age – I said, ‘Just give yourself a 48-hour break off social media, don’t go thinking you have got to work out what everyone is saying about it because everyone will have something different to say’. But it is very difficult for young guys now to be like that.

“He has been fine in training, he was on his toes. The one thing that he knows is we have no problems about it. It was a genuine mistake. When you actually stop and think about it it’s never a right time for someone to learn something. He has done it, it’s not a big deal but he knows why he did it. 

“He felt he had not quite set himself initially in the right place and then made a small adjustment and it’s something he will make sure he will not do again. It’s not that big a deal. It would have been an incredible kick if he had got it over. 

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“All the mistakes we made in that game, the smallest of the mistakes we made was Joe at the end. We make mistakes all the way through the game. At the end of the day, we won pretty much every stat apart from the scoreboard. In those conditions to have control of possession and territory like we did should win you the game. 

“The only thing he will change in his kicking style is making sure he doesn’t do an adjustment before he kicks. He has learned that lesson. It’s not something he does. It was a little bit like the whole game wrapped up in one thing, wasn’t it? There were quite a few things happening in the game that wasn’t quite us and they got wrapped up in that final moment,” continued Baxter, adding the incident won’t leave Simmonds scarred long-term.  

“If you stop and look at Joe’s career with us to date, how would you describe it? You would describe Joe’s career as being on an upward curve and that is relatively unusual for a young ten. Normally, with young players, you have got to be prepared to take a little bit of pain. We have taken relatively little pain with him. 

“I don’t see this as being a big deal and his history to date says he takes wins and losses in his stride and he continually looks to improve and drive this team. There is no reason for me to have any worries about him.”

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JW 51 minutes ago
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More indecision and excuses from Razor.


You've given a spot at 6 to Finau whom you haven't even had the courage to use off the bench in the last two games. Now the young enforcer is going into a big much with no rugby, we should expect a similar result to how Aumua struggled to impact a game after he'd hardly been given any chances of the bench either.


Weve now dropped a back three player who also wasn't even given any game time off the bench for someone coming in cold when they really need to have been playing constantly to perform at their best. There are just so many better pictures that should have been present rather than this mickey mouse selection.


I really hope Finau can overcome this, it won't be the first time he's had to. How is the bench even made up? Could you not just have included these changes in the article as well? I actually like BB coming back in, it highlights how courageous he is after sitting out through another concussion that could just as easily sent him back into months of symptoms again.


Dmac was also off his game last week, as was Ratima, with the poor platform Razor and his team have been setting the players up with. He needs to freedom to clear his mind from the clutter that saw him make so many bad decisions last week. It will still probably be a net loss for the team performance not having him on from the start but it should be better for them in the long run if he's allowed to just come on late and play his game trying to claw things back for the team.


With Roigard starting that might prove an outlet for the team to actually get on top first however. Along with Ardie busting a gut in his new role and emptying the tank by halftime, and being replaced by another new star, might mean that Dmac is just icing on the cake at the end.

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Flankly 1 hour ago
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