Sam Simmonds: Exeter boss Rob Baxter hopes hat-trick propels him into England side
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Sam Simmonds has scored 10 tries this season, seven of them in the Heineken Champions Cup
Exeter boss Rob Baxter hopes Sam Simmonds' hat-trick against Montpellier has done enough to warrant a place in the England side.
The 27-year-old number eight took his tally to 75 tries on his 100th appearance for the Devon club.
Simmonds, who earned a British & Irish Lions call-up in the summer, has not started for England since March 2018.
"I hope he gets some recognition with England now because he's bang on form," Baxter said after the loss in France.
Simmonds, who broke the Premiership's single-season try-scoring record last term, faces competition from Harlequins' Alex Dombrandt for a place in the opening game against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, 5 February.
Dombrandt matched his rival as he also scored three tries as the Premiership champions beat Castres on Friday.
"That's what you want as a coach," Baxter added of the dilemma facing England boss Eddie Jones.
"You want your players kind of knocking each other over with man-of-the-match performances trying to prove a point and he'll probably be delighted."
The 37-26 defeat in France - which saw Exeter overturn a 19-point deficit to briefly lead in the second half - saw the Chiefs set up a last-16 tie over two legs against Munster.
"Pre-game we knew that two points would move us up a position, and that would move us up to logistically an easier set of fixtures with just moving up and down to Bristol," added Baxter of the knockout draw.
"But the reality is going to Munster is a great experience for every player and we'll really look forward to that.
"I think we've probably not shown our best against some of the Irish teams in the past and I think it'll be a really good experience for us and a really good opportunity for us to achieve something a little bit special in this year's Heineken Cup by beating Munster - which we're going to have to do if we're going to get through to the quarter-final."
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