#4. Sam Simmonds
The number 8 has already confirmed this will be his final season with the Chiefs as a move to Top 14 heavyweights Montpellier has already been agreed.
“I know my decision will stop my England ambitions, but there is still a long way to go this season. Right now, I will be doing everything in my power to play well for Exeter and whatever happens with selection after that, I’ll know I have done my best to try and be included,” Simmonds told the Exeter Chiefs website.
“Making the move away from Exeter was a tough decision for me, but I’m fully focused on playing well for the club this season. The love I have for this team and for the club as a whole, it wasn’t easy but there comes a time when you have to make big decisions.
“In the past, I have stayed here but now this is an exciting move for me. I’ve got a young family and the move really appeals to me. It’s a new challenge and I have always spoken about how as you get older, you have to try new experiences. I’m a Devon boy, who has only lived in Devon, but I want to go out with a bang at Exeter and keep pushing hard for England.”
#5. Joe Simmonds
Having failed to break into the England set-up, brother of Sam, Joe could be tempted by an overseas move if the right sort of offer lands on his lap.
Such was his growing influence within the side that in January 2020, Director of Rugby Rob Baxter made Simmonds captain for the Champions Cup trip to Glasgow Warriors.
By the end of the disrupted season, he would not only lead the Chiefs into two major finals against Racing 92 and Wasps, but he would lift both cups alongside club captain Jack Yeandle.
That double triumph was rewarded on an even higher scale when he was given an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
