NICK CAIN
READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK

THE vapour trail left by Sam Simmonds on his Six Nations debut in Rome was a sign that neither England’s World Cup rivals, nor the RFU, can afford to ignore.
Where England’s opponents have to find ways of stopping a player who could become the Red Rose answer to the best No.7s that New Zealand and Australia can produce, the RFU have to ensure that young players of Simmonds calibre – for whom the Championship has kept their dreams of top tier rugby alive – do not get stranded by Premiership-ring fencing.
Simmons has the s...