It is the morning after Exeter’s victory over London Irish and Sam Simmonds can be forgiven for looking a little blurry-eyed. On top of that, he was the headline inclusion in Warren Gatland’s Lions squad, having not been picked for England since March 2018. If you’re not being picked for your country, you naturally feel like you might not be in the reckoning for the Lions. I was always hopeful that if I wasn’t selected by the Lions then I’d be involved on the England summer tour. I’ve not been getting selected for England and I’ve made peace with that, but I still want to be a part of a successful England team.

Source: Daily Mail May 22, 2021 21:22 UTC