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French club could be set to reunite Simmonds brothers


Sam Simmonds (L) of Exeter Chiefs looks on with his brother Joe Simmonds during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Worcester Warriors and Exeter Chiefs at Sixways Stadium on January 30, 2021 in Worcester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
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A family reunion for former England and Lions back-row Sam Simmonds and his younger brother Joe at Pau could be on the cards if next month Montpellier lose their bid to stay in the Top 14.

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Torquay-born Simmonds, 29, has scored four tries in 24 appearances for Montpellier this season after the pair left Exeter Chiefs and joined the mass exodus of players leaving the Premiership for the Top 14.

He scored 83 tries in 123 games for the Chiefs, breaking the Premiership’s try-scoring record in 2021 but has found the try line a lot harder to find in a struggling Montpellier side.

Pau are interested in signing the European Player of the Year after helping Exeter to Premiership and Champions Cup double in 2020 if Mohed Altrad’s side drops through the relegation trapdoor into the second-tier Pro D2.

Montpellier, who started Simmonds at openside flanker for the second successive game, will face a play-off against the losing Pro D2 finalists following their 22-29 defeat at the hands of a weakened Toulouse.

Les Bleu et Blanc have been in steady decline since winning the Top 14 crown against Castres two years ago have lost their last six games, including against Ulster in the Challenge Cup Round of 16.

They are 11 points behind Lyon with two games left to play this season and will have to win a playoff game to retain their place in the French top flight next season.

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The Simmonds brothers, who were team-mates at Sandy Park for eight years, have found getting together much more difficult since moving to France with a four-hour drive between Pau and Montpellier.

“It just felt like the right time with him leaving as well to experience something. We are only four hours away from each other here, so it’s quite nice to visit him when I can,” Joe told RugbyPass in January.

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Olly 59 minutes ago
Is defence going out of fashion? 'The trick now is how quickly you stop the bleeding'

IMO, with all the physical changes to the players and the law changes for faster more ball minutes etc…The Def role has changed. All the usual stuff of the def system, line speed structure, communication, pressure etc etc are all critical. For me, game management has become def and the role of the modern def coach. Yes, it has always been important, but I feel it has switched from more attack focus to a def focus. It is very hard to stop teams from coming away with points when they get in range now and we are seeing more and more of just pick-and-goes over actual attack in this red zone. You can tackle your heart out, but the system will fail, and from what I have been seeing in SRP (with the new laws), teams seem to be holding on in def….then suddenly the opposition gets in the right area (mostly a run of penalties), and we have a run of points. Lots of points in bunches at critical points of games which make a tight contest look like a comfortable win.

Not sure if I am getting my point over clearly (at the end of a tiring day so rambling); I guess I just see the game is all about managing where the game is played, which has always been important…But I think it is def more important now then he has been in the past and a critical part of def coaching now. A def team stopping a team from getting points when in the reds zone is celebrated as a miracle now and a complete failure from the attacking team….



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