Sam Simmonds named European player of the year after Exeter Chiefs’ Champions Cup win over Racing 92

Award came just hours after brother Joe was man of the match as the Chiefs came up big in a huge final

Sam Simmonds in action during the Champions Cup final (Getty Images)

Exeter Chiefs’ Sam Simmonds capped an extraordinary day for his club and his family by being named European player of the year on Saturday.

The announcement came hours after Simmonds’ brother Joe was man of the match as their team beat Racing 92 to win the Champions Cup for the first time.

Sam Simmonds scored one of Exeter’s four tries in a gripping 31-27 victory over the French side, taking his tally to a tournament-leading eight this season – all from No. 8.

The award was decided by a panel of rugby experts, augmented by more than 20,000 votes from the public.

Simmonds is the fourth English player in five years to receive the Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy as Europe’s player of the season after Saracens trio Maro Itoje (2016), Owen Farrell (2017) and Alex Goode (2019). Reuters