Six Nations: England star Sam Simmonds aims to make up for FOUR-YEAR absence vs Scotland as part of new-look Red Rose
SAM SIMMONDS aims to make up for lost time at Murrayfield with the Exeter No 8 knowing there are no excuses if England fail to deliver.
Simmonds ends a four-year absence from Eddie Jones’ starting team, as part of a new-look back row primed for Calcutta Cup combat.
Good enough to be selected for Lions duty in South Africa last summer, it was not until the autumn series that he was back in Jones’ good books — for the first time since the Six Nations defeat by Ireland at Twickenham in 2018.
But the 27-year-old is not dwelling on what might have been with it now all about the England future he can create for himself, alongside skipper Tom Curry and Lewis Ludlam.
Simmonds said: “I never doubted myself when I was out of the squads. First there was a long injury spell which kept me out from late 2018, so I pretty much missed the whole of the 2019 season.
“My mindset was just about getting back to playing rugby, to doing what I love and putting a string of games together.
“I started playing well and had people talking. But it was not like the other back rows in the squad were playing badly.
“It was just about me plugging away, improving on the things that Eddie and the other coaches wanted me to improve. I always knew that my time would come again. It was just a matter of when.”
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That 'when' is now although the suspicion that Jones did not want to be moved by a media bandwagon on Simmonds’ behalf remains.
Simmonds added: “It’s better people saying I’m playing well than not playing well at all, or people saying I have had a poor year.
“I just focused on playing for Exeter, which I love doing, and my form kept getting better.”
Aussie Jones has already warned his team they face an assault by wind and rain — not to mention the considerable hostility of the home fans.
That mix does not add up, in normal circumstances, to flowing rugby.
It will be attritional, scrappy, about getting the basics right, minimising mistakes and some old-fashioned spoiling. The sort of game an aggressive back row forward revels in.
Simmonds added: “If you look at the back row, it’s an all-action one. The boys love to carry, love to tackle, to get over the ball — and that’s what we’re going to need.”
On his own role, Simmonds suggested evolution, not revolution. He said: “I’ve played for Exeter for five or six years now and we’ve never had a recognised jackler, the old-school No 7 that’s great over the ball.
“It’s something I wanted to add to my game. Not just turning the ball over — but the work in the breakdown after you’ve made the tackle.
“Turnovers can often be few and far between. But if you slow the ball down and mess up the ruck, so the No 9 knocks it on or there’s a poor pass, that’s a big thing some people don’t notice.”
Yet Jones, of course, does notice and will expect Simmonds, Curry and Lewis Ludlam to neutralise the threat of Scotland playmaker Finn Russell, plus create time and space for rookie England fly-half Marcus Smith.
And Simmonds is one of seven England starters with fewer than ten caps to their name, partly due to injury, but also by design.
He added: “Obviously there are a lot of new faces — some very young faces that are doing unbelievably well in the Premiership this year. They have put their hands up and played well in the autumn.
“That is what we want to bring forward, a new face of how England play, and we want to kick it off well against Scotland.
“What matters, ultimately, is the team performance. We have come up here to win — we want to get our Six Nations off to a good start.”
Meanwhile, Jones is ordering his troops to target Scotland fly-half Finn Russell.
Jones sends a new-look England into Six Nations combat at Murrayfield tonight with an untried back row of skipper Curry, Simmonds and Ludlam.
But the England boss is backing his trio to stop dangerman Russell.
Red Rose defence coach Anthony Seibold said: “Finn’s the quarterback who executes plays and has an effective kicking game — but we have a plan.”
And Exeter No 8 Simmonds added: “We will go after him, not in ones and twos, but as a team.”
But Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg taunted England ahead of today’s Six Nations showdown, insisting: "You don’t scare us any more."
WALES TO GIVE 'EM ELL
Ellis Jenkins says Wales are ready to rip up the form book in Dublin and tear into the Irish on the launch of their Six Nations title defence.
Nobody gave Wayne Pivac’s men a chance last year but they still won a sixth crown.
Ireland had a magnificent autumn campaign, putting the mighty All Blacks to the sword.
They come into Saturday's clash among the tournament favourites and on an eight-game winning streak.
Cardiff Blues flanker Jenkins, 28, said: “Form doesn’t count for a lot when it comes to Test match rugby.
“Everyone’s written us off but we are just focused on ourselves. We’ve talked about going out there to win the championship again. And that starts on Saturday.”
But Ireland head coach Andy Farrell hopes his side can put on a show for fans — with a Six Nations full house expected for the first time in nearly two years following Covid restrictions amid the pandemic.
Farrell said: “It’s everything to us — it makes us tick. We want to connect with people. The connection for us is huge and we’ve missed that as a team.”
FRENCH BLOW
France’s chances of a positive start against Italy tomorrow were rocked by the news head coach Fabien Galthie tested positive for Covid-19 and won't be attending the match in the Stade de France.
Les Bleus general manager and former captain Raphael Ibanez heads up the coaching team instead, with Galthie working remotely.
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Galthie tweeted: “I am fine with mild symptoms.”
The French Rugby Federation said tests carried out yesterday produced no further positive results.
