Simmonds aware of festive threats
By Mark Stevens
19/12/19
Sam Simmonds says Exeter Chiefs must ‘park’ their impressive European exploits for now and focus their minds fully on a big month ahead in the Gallagher Premiership.
Rob Baxter’s side return to domestic action this Saturday at Leicester Tigers, oozing with confidence after collective four victories out of four in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
Having bagged 19 out of a possible 20 points on offer, the Chiefs are just a solitary point away from confirming their place in the knockout stages for only the second time in the club’s history.
Impressive victories over La Rochelle (away) and Glasgow Warriors (home) having since been followed up with back-to-back wins against Sale Sharks in the past fortnight.
In between all of that, the Devonians also bagged a 38-3 win over Wasps in the Premiership, a result that has put them third in the current standings, just four points adrift of leaders Northampton Saints.
Helping to lead the charge for the Chiefs has been England international Simmonds, whose double in last weekend’s 35-10 home win against the Sharks, saw him bag tries 33 and 34 in just 59 appearances for the club.
The all-action No.8 has been in sensational form this term, showing that he is well and truly back to his best, having missed much of last season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
“It’s good to back out there,” he said. “On a personal level it’s nice to be scoring tries, but for me it’s more about helping the team and making sure we are producing the performances each week.
“We’ve done well in Europe so far this season and it was good to back up the Sale away game with another big win here against them. Playing Sale, whether it’s in Europe or the Premiership, it’s always tough so it’s nice to have won up there and then back it up with five points at home.”
With a quarter-final spot now within touching distance for the Chiefs, Simmonds says it’s important that he and his team-mates continue to deliver in the Premiership.
“To have 19 out of 20 points is a good statement on our part,” he said. “It may look like we have one foot in the quarter-finals, but you never know with this competition. We have dipped off int he past, so it’s important we park this for now and focus on the Premiership, just because we’ve got some huge games coming up.
“We can worry more about Europe when it comes around again, but it doesn’t get any easier for us now. Leicester this weekend is always a tough place to go. They won’t necessarily be happy with their Premiership form, but they’ve been going well themselves in Europe, so they’ll have a bit of confidence about them too.
“After that, we’ve got the Christmas game against Saracens here and that will be a huge task for both clubs.”