Sinbad has been an outstanding servant to Gloucester rugby, however, he has been unlucky to miss out on a more illustrious International career because of injuries.
James Simpson-Daniel or ‘Sinbad’ as he is commonly known became one of the Shed’s favourite players within months of his Gloucester debut against Rotherham in 2001 in which he scored his first try for the Cherry and Whites. The Gloucester flier is known as one of the best finishers in European rugby, however, sadly for him, he has had his promising career blighted by injury.
Simpson-Daniel made himself a household name at Kingsholm with sterling performances for his club, with Sinbad on the wing or in the centres; Gloucester has achieved great success in topping the Premiership table in 2003, 2007 and 2008, whilst also winning the European Challenge Cup in 2006. The Cherry and Whites won the Powergen Cup in 2003 and are the current holders of the LV= Cup. So far, Simpson-Daniel has played 240 games in all competitions for Gloucester. He has scored a remarkable 111 tries for his club and his contribution is not limited to finishing. Because of his dangerous attacking repertoire, he is a marked man by his opposition and this means he can create space for others to exploit. This is extremely useful as Gloucester have the likes of Charlie Sharples, Henry Trinder and Lesley Vainikolo to rely on to finish off strike moves.
James’ outstanding skills did not go unnoticed by National selectors; in 2002 he was picked for the Hong Kong Sevens series and justified his selection with a hat-trick in the final of the tournament that England went on to win. Soon after, he was selected to play in a non-capped International for England against a very experienced Barbarians side at Twickenham. The match went well for the young Gloucester winger as he famously outpaced Jonah Lomu to score in the corner. Simpson-Daniel’s superb form continued as he was selected to play in the November Internationals for England. He has a dream debut for his country against the All Blacks in England’s 31-28 win. He then played the next game against Australia and set up a fantastic try for Ben Cohen in the narrow 32-31 win. It turned out that he had played the game with Glandular fever and then missed the final Test match before the Six Nations. This was a devastating blow to such an exciting talent who had just broken through on to the International stage.
James Simpson-Daniel's fantastic try vs. the Barbarians in 2002
Simpson-Daniel missed out on the final 30-man squad for the 2003 World Cup in Australia with a back injury. Injury once again ruled him out of the 2005 Six Nations and in 2006 he missed the summer tests in Australia with a dead leg. His poor fortune continued in 2007 when he broke his collarbone in pre-season training with Gloucester. This ruined his chances of selection in the November Internationals. Because he seemed to be injury prone, Simpson-Daniel was cast aside by the England management and it was not until earlier this year until he was given another chance with England. Earlier this year, Simpson-Daniel made England’s World Cup training squad with his club colleague Charlie Sharples. Unfortunately for him, he was not given a chance in any warm up games and was released at the first stage of dismissals by Martin Johnson. This was perhaps Simpson-Daniel’s last chance at International representation; it is likely England’s selectors will give young talent a chance in the November Internationals with the likes of Owen Farrell, Charlie Sharples and Manu Tuilagi looking likely to take English rugby forward.
England’s loss is Gloucester’s gain; that has been the long held opinion of the Shed faithful. Were it not for a devastating injury record, Sinbad may have won 50 caps by now; however, he has only won 10 caps for his country. Nonetheless, he will go down in Gloucester folklore as one of the most entertaining talents to have ever graced the West Country club. With the sad passing of Tom Walkinshaw in December of last year, contract negotiations were delayed until the New Year. The capture of Simpson-Daniel’s signature was a sign of Gloucester’s intent to keep a blend of experience to go with the young talent at Bryan Redpath’s disposal. It was reported that Simpson-Daniel was offered tempting offers in France with higher salaries than Gloucester could match, however, the Gloucester winger has been such a servant to the club and felt happy at Kingsholm so he signed on for another 3 years in the Spring of this year.
James Simpson Daniel does not seem to have lost much pace over the years, but his role may change over the next few seasons, he will become more of a playmaker and mentor to Gloucester’s youth, instead of being the pace man. The real speed in the side lies with Charlie Sharples and Jonny May, who are the two fastest players at Gloucester. They Cherry and Whites face tough challenges this season in an ever increasingly-competitive Aviva Premiership and also, Gloucester are back in the Heineken Cup in a group with French giants Toulouse, current Amlin Cup holders Harlequins and Connacht. In the LV= Cup, Gloucester got off to a mixed start with an inconsistent 58-27 win over Sale and a humiliating 40-14 loss against Leicester at Welford road. For Bryan Redpath, the priority will be the Premiership and Gloucester will look once again to make the top-four to qualify for the play-offs. Any progress in the Heineken cup will be a benefit, but it is hard to see Gloucester topping the pool and it will be incredibly difficult for them to go through as runners up as there will not be many bonus points in pool 6. Gloucester’s European competitors will have to watch out for Simpson-Daniel’s mazy running style and deceptive strength however, as he is capable of scoring tries from any area of the pitch.
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