>> Slade: I want to wear 10 but Eddie thinks I’m 13
HENRY Slade still sees himself as a fly-half but the Exeter star is prepared to keep playing in midfield especially after Eddie Jones told him his England future is at outside centre.
The 24-year-old delivered England U20s’ first World Cup triumph in 2013 in the No.10 shirt but has since struggled to oust Gareth Steenson at Sandy Park and has made most of his 101 club appearances in midfield.
It is the same story with England with his four starts from his seven caps have come in the No.13 jersey and that is where he played the two Tests in Argentina in June – with Jones looking for depth behind Lions tourists Jonathan Joseph.
“Growing up I was always a fly-half and that remains my favourite position because you get your hands on the ball so much,” Slade told The Rugby Paper. “But I’ve played a lot at centre in the last few years and that’s why Eddie’s picked me in midfield I guess.
“I really enjoy the defence side of things there and he was happy with how I played in Argentina.
“He’s looking at me as an outside centre so I’m trying to do my best in becoming quicker and improving the other things he wants me to work on.
“I’d been around the squad for a couple of years, never too involved, so it was really nice to start both games against the Pumas.
“Hopefully I’ve done enough to retain my place in the squad for the autumn but I know it’ll come from a good start of the season with Exeter.
“I’d like to play No.10 and be in charge of the team but to be honest I’m just happy to be on the field. Steeno is a machine but it’s a long season and I’m sure I’ll get to play at fly-half at some point.”
Slade arrived in Argentina as a Premiership champion after Exeter went one step further at Twickenham, beating Wasps in extra-time one year after losing to Saracens.
Exeter failed to win five of their opening seven Premiership fixtures last season, but issues were addressed and they went on an incredible 17-game unbeaten run on their way to lift the trophy.
They are now the team everyone will want to beat but Slade is adamant they will be ready for the challenge in both Premiership and Champions Cup.
He added: “I came back two weeks after everyone else because of the Argentina tour and it was really tough because the boys were already flying.
“We learned a lot from last year when we thought because we’d reached the final the previous year we’d automatically be good again.
“We were happy with what we’d achieved, and rightly so, but we’d worked really hard for that and we didn’t work as hard at the start of last season.
“We didn’t understand what it would take to back it up being a team everyone raises their game against. It was new to us but once we talked about it we got going and at the end it was almost like we didn’t know how to lose.
“It was awesome to win the Premiership but we have to back it up now and we’d also like to do well in the Champions Cup.
“We have a tough pool with Montpellier, Leinster and Glasgow but we’re confident we can go anywhere and get some good results. We reached the play-offs in 2016 and we’d like to get back there this year.”