Joe Simmonds: 'My rugby at Exeter was not where I wanted it to be'

Signing a long-term contract extension at Top 14 side Pau wasn’t the best or most important life decision Joe Simmonds made recently, as he also popped the question to his now-fiancée the same week.

“Joe’s contract extension was one of our priorities,” club manager Sebastien Piqueronies said in a club statement after Simmonds committed himself to Piqueronies’ project at Stade du Hameau until 2028. “[He is] an experienced and reliable leader … His range is complete and his determination to grow our project is a tremendous asset.”

It’s clear the two-time World Rugby Under-20 Championship-winning coach with France regards Simmonds as a foundational player in his longer-term plans for the ambitious club. It’s still early enough in the French contract extension season for announcements to create an impression.

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Now four games into his second season at Pau, it’s clear, too, that the former Exeter fly-half had no qualms about extending his adventure to five years. “Pau offered me [a contract] early, and it was hard to turn down,” he said. “I could have waited a few months, but it felt right, and ‘Piques’ wanted me to stay.”

Taking the leap across the Channel to France at the end of the 2022/23 season after seven years and nearly 180 matches at Chiefs was a momentous decision but necessary for his career, Simmonds said. “I’m not afraid to say it – my rugby at Exeter was not where I wanted it to be. It’s hard to nail that down but I felt I had to get out of my comfort zone.”

So an intra-Premiership switch wasn’t going to cut it. “I felt I just wanted to love rugby again. I loved my time at Exeter and I would never change a thing but it was the right time to try something different.

“It was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made. The atmosphere here in France is crazy and very different to the Premiership.”

Brother Sam’s decision to quit Sandy Park for Top 14 rivals Montpellier the same year also influenced Joe’s decision. “We’d only ever known playing together,” Simmonds said. “We both grew up just outside Exeter, played numerous games together and it felt right with him leaving [too].

“I wasn’t in the best position myself, rugby-wise. I think with him leaving, it made my decision a lot easier to look elsewhere.”

Ambitious Pau, a side that has still to taste Champions Cup rugby, ticked all the right boxes.

“I wanted to go to a side where I was going to bring something different. Pau had been in the Top 14 for a while but they’ve always battled relegation or been in the lower half of the leaderboard. I wanted to go there and try and change that and put my game onto a different team.

“The first year was very positive. We finished ninth, but we were very close to Champions Cup rugby and the top six – we were a couple of points away from that.

“Our goal this year is top six – we want Champions Cup rugby. I hadn’t experienced the years before [here] but I feel like the team’s only improving – it’s a great club to be part of.”

A young one, too. His team-mates include Emilien Gailleton, 21, and Théo Attissogbe, 19, already both senior French internationals. In fact, Simmonds is a veteran at the ripe age of 27, in a squad in which only six players – including fellow halfback import Dan Robson, and newly arrived tighthead Harry Williams – have reached 30.

He sees that as a positive. “With young players getting Top 14 experience at such a young age, it’s only going to get better. The team’s only going to get better from that. It’s very exciting to see these players and I think a lot of them are on long-term contracts as well, so we’re going to keep them. They’re already great players, but it will be nice to see them develop.

“That’s a good thing about France – they see something in you and your training well, and working hard week in, week out, you’ll get an opportunity to play.

“I think Emilien played pretty much every single Top 14 game last season, and same with Théo since he came in. It’s good to have these players.”

Four games into the season, Pau sit eighth on 10 points, with two five-point home wins offsetting two big defeats on the road.

Youth had its say in Saturday’s 30-16 come-from-behind win over Stade Francais at home. Gailleton and Attissogbe both touched down in a rousing second-half fightback that got the Hameau crowd roaring – and Simmonds broke free to score the bonus point-winning try in the 78th minute, taking his personal tally to 15 points on the night.

As always, however, there are work-ons. Discipline on the road has been an issue – Pau shipped three yellow cards in their 39-7 opening-day defeat in Clermont, and another two in the 49-25 loss at La Rochelle.

“We’re never ever going to win games like that – it needs to change because we’re killing ourselves,” Simmonds said. “We’re leaking easy points and, looking at the La Rochelle game, a lot of them came from our mistakes.”

He’s right. Pau have conceded 133 points in their four-matches to date, with only Vannes having more.

Moving from the Premiership to the Top 14, from England to France, piles on additional layers of potential cultural and language problems. Players and their families can, and do, struggle to settle.

Simmonds was aware that his decision to sign on for another three years wouldn’t just affect him. “It’s always easier for the players because you’re working every day, you’re involved with the group, whereas you’ve got to think of your family as well,” he said.

“My girlfriend’s adapted [to life in Pau] well. She’s made friends and she enjoys the lifestyle here in France. That’s helped massively – there has to be a balance with family.”

Club support, he said, extended beyond the players – he also attends one-on-one language classes to boost his French – to their families. His fiancée, he said, “feels involved as well whereas, at other clubs, it’s just the players”.

“Here, it’s the whole family deal. Everyone’s involved. The support from my fiancée has been huge with choosing to stay here because it would be easy for her to make an excuse to go back to England and want something different. But, she’s loving it.

“When you move to France, you’ve got to realise that this is your home. People come over and think, ‘oh, I’m only going to be here for two years, then I’ll move back to England’, then struggle. But this is our home for the next five years.”

Friendly, laid-back Pau helped – both club and city. “They’ve been very welcoming,” Simmonds said. “Not just the players, but the people around Pau.

“It’s a proud moment, we talked about it with our parents, it doesn’t come very often.”

The first time Sam and Joe Simmonds start a Premiership game together resulted in a big win for @ExeterChiefs…

And a man of the match award for big bro 👊 pic.twitter.com/TeXhDAjqQ8

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) March 23, 2018

“It’s such a small city. I go into town with some of the boys for coffee, and you can just tell that they love their rugby here. They’re all very welcoming and they want to talk to you. And same with when the stadium is full here. It’s a brilliant atmosphere.

“It’s completely different to the way it is in England. The fans really get involved here and they feel it with you. It’s great to be able to play in front of such a good, positive crowd.

“I enjoy my rugby again. Maybe I always overthought things and put pressure on myself in England, but I feel like I’ve lost that now. I’m back enjoying my rugby, and my life outside rugby as well.”