Some records are harder to break than others and, at this rate, it could be a while before anyone overhauls Sam Simmonds as the most prolific try scorer in the English game. A hat-trick of tries in front of the watching national coach Eddie Jones has propelled the Chiefs No 8 to 19 tries this season, two more than any player has ever registered in a Premiership campaign before.
With three rounds of the regular season still to go there is also no obvious sign of the 26-year-old Simmonds easing up now he has passed the old record of 17 jointly held by the wings Dominic Chapman and Christian Wade. Given he is a forward and also has his share of defensive grunt work to do, his achievement is a serious tribute to his explosive pace, sharp footwork and dynamic power.
While his two first-half scores were relatively unflashy close-range efforts, the third saw him underline his versatility by surging over in the right corner eight minutes from the end. While the Chiefs were not overly spectacular, this bonus point victory has booked their place in the play-offs and restored them to second in the table, eight points behind the leaders Bristol.
It is reaching the point where referees are assuming Simmonds must have scored even if the evidence is not entirely clear. With just seven minutes gone the serial poacher twisted over the line beneath a heap of bodies and Christophe Ridley awarded the score despite any conclusive sign of the ball being grounded.
Then again, Irish’s equalising try seven minutes later was debatable as well. Only when an image suggesting Ben Donnell had reached the whitewash from close range was flashed up on the big screen did Ridley consult the TMO and the try was given despite the suggestion from other angles that the flanker might have been just short.
Waiting for the decisions to be reached did at least allow more time to appreciate London Irish’s new surroundings. Their snazzy new stadium is the perfect size for rugby and, as in Bristol the previous evening, the presence of spectators was a further joy. With the heavy afternoon rain in west London replaced by bright evening sunshine, the only issue was whether a slippery surface might complicate life for the nimble outside backs on both sides.
Any doubts on that front were swiftly erased when Joe Simmonds spotted a midfield mismatch with prop Loveday Chawatama, threw a lovely dummy and sprinted clean through to underline that a keen scoring instinct runs in the family.
There was never much question, though, which brother was destined to steal the headlines on the night. With 24 minutes gone the Chiefs once again established a promising position deep in the Irish 22 and this time there was absolutely no disputing the perfect low body angle or finishing power of the Premiership’s new record-breaker.
Irish needed a swift response and found it when Stuart Hogg made a mess of a clearance and Ollie Hassell-Collins produced a gorgeous offload for Ben Loader to score. This was just the second game Irish fans had been able to attend since moving to Brentford from Reading’s Madejski Stadium and their team, when they get it right, are a joy to watch. What they lack is the defensive grit and consistency of their opponents and a clutch of avoidable penalties also enabled last season’s champions to reach the interval 19-12 in front.
Irish errors also played their part in Exeter’s fourth try when Loader could not deal with a tricky bouncing ball on his own line and the alert Tom O’Flaherty sneaked in. The wing was sin-binned shortly afterwards but the Chiefs were never going to let the unstoppable Simmonds finish on the losing side.