[3] He narrowly missed selection to the final 30 for the 2003 Rugby World Cup because of a back problem, although he had celebrated his first Six Nations Championship start some months earlier with a try in the match against Italy.
Injury once again prevented him playing a part in the 2004 Autumn series in November and he missed further game time for the buildup to the 2005 Six Nations.
He was recalled to the England squad for the 2007 Summer Tour of South Africa, alongside club colleagues Andy Hazell, Nick Wood, Iain Balshaw, Anthony Allen and Alex Brown.
[6] Called into the 2011 Rugby World Cup training squad, on 1 August 2011 Simpson-Daniel was one of five players released by manager Martin Johnson.
[9] His older brother Chris was also a professional rugby player for Newcastle Falcons and Worcester, however his career was curtailed by injury.