Joe Simmonds reveals family frustration at England non-selections
Joe Simmonds admits he is frustrated at not getting a look-in with England but says it is his brother Sam he really feels for.
At the age of 23 fly-half Simmonds captained Exeter to the Premiership and European Cup double.
It earned him an MBE from the Queen but no recognition whatsoever from Eddie Jones, who has not capped a new fly-half in six years as England boss.
Sam is also hammering against a locked door despite being European player of the year and scorer of twice as many tries as any player in this season’s Premiership.
Lions great Jamie Roberts went as far as to say “Sam Simmonds could well end up starting for the Lions and not get picked for England!”
As his younger brother, Joe accepts that he is biased, but said: “Sam is playing his best rugby and for me is by far the best player in the Premiership.
“He does a hell of a job for us week in week out. He scores tries, he makes his tackles and a lot of carries. He’s playing consistently better than some internationals.
“I just think it’s a bit unfair at the moment with some of the decisions that are made. The players England are picking reached a World Cup final, they are amazing players.
“But there’s a lot of others in-form in the Premiership not getting a look-in."
In Sam’s No8 position Billy Vunipola is England’s ever-present despite recently admitting his form had been “rubbish”.
He was notably better against Wales but after a second defeat in three games ended England’s Six Nations hopes, Jones is facing calls to freshen things up.
World Cup winner Will Greenwood yesterday placed Joe Simmonds and Harlequins’ Marcus Smith at the front of the queue of fly-halves to be “next cab off the rank”.
But in all but one of his 62 Test matches in charge Jones has started either Owen Farrell or George Ford at 10.
The exception was Danny Cipriani, given a first start for 10 years in 2018. He made the winning try and was not seen again.
While Farrell and Ford have a blank weekend, Joe and his brother start for Exeter at Bath today.
“Obviously I want to play for England, every kid’s dream is to play for their country,” said Joe. “But for the moment I’m just not getting picked.
“To be fair I don’t feel I’m playing as good as I can. I need to keep pushing on. But given the opportunity I would give everything to that badge.”
Joe Simmonds was speaking on behalf of Gallagher’s ‘Tackling Tomorrow. Together’ campaign. The initiative is supporting local businesses and championing their resilience during the pandemic through Gallagher’s position as title partner of Premiership Rugby. Find out more here: ajg.com/tackling-tomorrow-together
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