STOP BEING SUCH A WIMP!
Slade gives himself pep talk as he pushes for an England place following career-threatening injury
HENRY SLADE does not need reminding of the performance in last season’s Aviva Premiership final that cost him his chance of starting on England’s triumphant summer tour to Australia.
The fact it was a near-miracle he was on the Twickenham pitch at all as Exeter were beaten by Saracens in late May — barely five months after suffering a potentially careerthreatening broken leg — was lost on many. Such is the way of professional sport.
The playmaker’s uncharacteristically error-strewn first-half display mirrored that of an Exeter Chiefs team playing in a first Twickenham final as street-savvy Saracens mugged them in broad daylight. A remarkable second-half Chiefs fightback put gloss on the scoreline, but the damage had been done.
Slade, who looked certain to start coach Eddie Jo n e s ’s first Test in charge against Scotland in February before injury struck, proceeded to play a peripheral role Down Under as England made history and was left in no doubt with a string of typically forthright debriefs. ‘I got on the tour, thank- fully,’ said Slade. ‘But that performance in the final hindered my chances of being involved in the Tests. Eddie would relate back to that and spoke to me about it quite a few times on tour. It was one of the reasons I didn’t play.
‘He was straight up. No messing around. He was harsh but fair. As a player you like that. You don’t want to be second-guessing coaches. You want to hear it straight and you definitely get it straight from Eddie. I know what I need to improve.’
Slade admits the new season is huge for him. After bursting on to the scene at 20 with an extraordinarily composed performance off the bench against Jonny Wilkinson’s Toulon in 2012, he has yet to establish himself in England’s midfield.
Former England coach Stuart Lancaster named him in his World Cup squad but picked him only for the dead rubber against Uruguay. Then Slade broke his right leg and dislocated an ankle days after Jones was appointed last December.
His swift comeback a month earlier than anticipated was designed to improve his chances of being fit to feature in England’s midfield in Australia but his desire to impress cost him as pressure built and he struggled to recapture his preinjury form.
‘When I first think about the final I get frustrated and disappointed by my performance,’ he said. ‘But if I take a step back and think about the bigger picture, to get back from that injury and play in the final was more than I could have hoped for. I was putting too much pressure on myself to get ready for the tour when what had got me into England contention was focusing on playing well for Exeter. Things were spiralling. It wasn’t so much on the pitch or in training, but when I’d get home I was just dwelling on things for far too long. I was getting disappointed and annoyed with myself. I had high expectations but it wasn’t happening. I needed to get over it.
‘One day before we played Wasps at the end of the season I had a meeting with [Exeter attack coach] Ali Hepher and just said “I need to stop being such a pussy”. I needed to get on with it. I’d done it all, done the rehab and ticked all the boxes. The ankle was fine and I needed to forget about it and play.’
It is a brutal assessment after an injury that would have ended some careers and will no doubt be music to Jones’s ears as he picks players on character and determination to improve. On that front, Slade cannot be doubted.
He starts against Wasps today in his preferred fly-half role opposite another gifted English No10, Danny Cipriani. Exeter head coach Rob Baxter, critical of Jones last week for ‘writing off’ Slade for the tour, has preferred Gareth Steenson at 10 over the past two seasons with Slade filling the outside centre position alongside Sam Hill at 12.
‘Eddie sees me as a 10 or a 12 but I think Rob knows ideally I’d like to play 10,’ said Slade. ‘As long as I’m on the pitch I’m not bothered because playing is the only way to get better.’
Fit, hungry and, at 15st 6lb, bigger than ever before, Slade has a clear run with the Chiefs before England’s first Test against South Africa on November 12 as he bids to confine last season’s final to history and put pressure on the incumbent 10-12 axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell.
‘I completely accept and understand it’s a big season for me,’ he said. ‘I’ve been in and around England a lot now and I just want to push on with my club and also internationally. We want to push on as a club and I want to push on as a player. My next stepping stone is to be in that England team. Hopefully, I can focus on playing well for Exeter and put in a few good performances at the start of the season and put my hand up for the autumn.’