Sam Simmonds among Exeter Chiefs players ‘burning to illustrate’ what they can do to Eddie Jones

Rob Baxter says players are motivated by trying to force their way into the national set-up after Simmonds scored a hat-trick in the Premiership-opening victory over Harlequins on Friday night

In association with

Sports Staff

Saturday 21 November 2020 06:38 EST

Comments

Sam Simmonds of Exeter makes a break on his way to scoring (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said hat-trick hero Sam Simmonds was one of a number of Chiefs players "burning to illustrate" what they can do to England coach Eddie Jones.

Number eight Simmonds produced an outstanding individual effort with three tries to help Exeter start their Premiership title defence with a 33-3 win over Harlequins at the Stoop.

The champions were fortunate to be able to call on Simmonds and other leading players who could all be considered for England selection, with his brother Joe and props Harry Williams and Alec Hepburn touted as possible national team players.

Baxter said: "Sam Simmonds put down a marker out there as he and a number of our players are burning to illustrate what they can do.

"There is no criticism of Eddie Jones but players can't sit and wait. All they can do is keep putting their name in the hat and wait for your turn to happen."

Dave Ewers and Stu Townsend were also on the try-scoring sheet for Exeter, with Joe Simmonds adding four conversions.

A penalty from Marcus Smith was Quins' sole response.

Baxter was thrilled with his side's performance, which came just 27 days since they secured last season's crown.

He said: "I'm really pleased as you've got to hand it to the players for with such limited prep time, they were able to turn up and put on a magnificent show away from home.

"You have to have a great work ethic and they showed it tonight and you don't win games of Premiership rugby unless you are able to show that."

He added: "It would be great for us to be more adventurous and I'm sure that will come as it's frustrating sitting in hotel rooms and looking at weather forecasts which show rain continually falling down."

Quins director of rugby Paul Gustard was left to wonder what might have been after having a try from Andre Esterhuizen chalked off.

He said: "Coming into the game, we felt confident as we played well in the final four weeks of last season.

"We defended excellently in the first half and going into the last quarter we could have been trailing 12-10 if Andre Esterhuizen's try had not been ruled out for crossing.

"We had a plan to deal with their close-range line-out drives but we weren't able to execute it and it felt like a death by a thousand cuts.

"We couldn't keep hold of the ball in the middle quarter and we lost the penalty count 16-7 so it was a frustrating start with a powerful team like Exeter showing us that we have a long way to go."

This weekend get a £10 free bet with Betfair, when you bet £10 on a Same Game Multi on the Premier League. Terms: Min £10 Same Game Multi bet on any EPL match this Fri - Sun. Free bet valid for 72 hours, awarded at bet settlement. Excludes cashed out bets. T&Cs apply.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies