Joe Simmonds (born 19 December 1996) is an English rugby union player for Premiership Rugby side Exeter Chiefs. He plays as a fly-half and is the first team captain.

Early life

Simmonds grew up in Teignmouth, Devon, where his father and uncle are both in the fishing industry. His elder brother is Sam Simmonds. In their youth, both attended the Rugby Academy at

Ivybridge Community College Ivybridge Community College is a state-funded secondary school and academy in Ivybridge, Devon, England. Located on the southern slopes of Dartmoor, it takes students from the surrounding of the South Hams, from 14 contributory primary schools ...

Rugby playing career

Simmonds made his full debut for Exeter on 4 March 2018 against Saracens and was named man of the match. The following week he kicked the winning penalty as Exeter beat the Newcastle Falcons to advance to the Anglo-Welsh Cup final. In the final, rearranged to March 30 due to snow, Simmonds kicked 13 points as the Chiefs won the cup 28–11 against

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

. The previous season he had played in the Anglo-Welsh Cup final but Exeter lost to

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

on that occasion. Simmonds was made captain of Exeter Chiefs in the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

when Exeter played Glasgow Warriors in round five of the Cup in January 2020.

Jack Yeandle Jack Yeandle (born on 22 December 1989) Yeandle is the current club captain for Exeter Chiefs in the Aviva Premiership. His playing position is Hooker. Yeandle Joined Exeter from former RFU Championship rivals Doncaster Knights along with Donc ...

remained the club captain. Simmonds led Exeter on the pitch in the delayed final of the

2020 Champions Cup The 2020 Humpty's Champions Cup was scheduled to be held from April 29 to May 3, at the Olds Sportsplex in Olds, Alberta. On March 12, 2020, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams that qualified were originally invited ...

. Simmonds is the youngest player to captain a side to victory in the final of the European Cup. He also won 'Star of the Match' for his performance in that game, and kicked 5 successful kicks out of 5 attempts. He was top points scorer in the

2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup The 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (ECP ...

Honours

Heineken Champions Cup Winners: 2019-20 Premiership Rugby Winners: 2019-20 Runners-up: 2018-19, 2017–18 ; Anglo-Welsh Cup Winners 2017–18 Runner-Up 2016–17 Devon Intermediate Cup 2015 winner Teignmouth RFC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvKhLRStefQ

References

1996 births Living people English rugby union players Exeter Chiefs players Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Torquay Rugby union fly-halves {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub