'Dream come true' for Slade

By Mark Stevens

Henry Slade says it will be a “dream come true” when he pulls on his England jersey against France at Twickenham on Saturday night.

The Exeter Chiefs star is poised to win his first international cap in what is the first of three warm-up fixtures for Stuart Lancaster’s side ahead of this autumn’s Rugby World Cup.

Having represented the Red Rose country at age group level, Saxons and twice in non-capped friendlies against the Barbarians, this really will be the pinnacle so far of the 22-year-old’s career.

After a stellar campaign for the Chiefs last season, one which saw crowned Young Player of the Year by Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association, it’s little wonder that the Plymouth-born back finds himself firmly in Lancaster’s mix just weeks from him naming his final World Cup squad.

Slade, however, remains as focused as ever and although a little nervous about what lies ahead this weekend, the man himself cannot wait to get stuck into the action.

“I’m just so excited,” he said. “It’s reward for all the hard work that has been put in by myself, my family, friends and the coaches over the years. It’s been a long road, but it’s something I have been looking forward to for so long.

“Now that it’s here and coming true, it does feel a bit weird and I do find myself pinching myself at times, but at the same time I have to think and remember that I’m playing for England at the weekend and that in itself is really exciting.”

Set to line-up alongside fellow debutant Sam Burgess in the England midfield, much has been said this past week about Lancaster opting to go with two rookies in this opening clash with Les Bleus.

But with World Cup squads of 31 set to be confirmed by the end of this month, Slade knows his must make the most of this weekend’s opportunity.

“There’s lots up for grabs,” added Slade. “I’ve got an opportunity this weekend and then we will see where we go from there. Getting my first cap is something I have been dreaming about for years - and yes it will be a dream come true for me - so I can’t wait to get out there.”

Slade has watched on as fellow Chief Jack Nowell, another product of the club’s academy system, has made the transition onto the international stage - and he hopes that he and Luke Cowan-Dickie, who himself hopes to win his maiden Test cap from the bench this weekend, can follow a similar path.

And it was just two years ago Slade, Nowell and Cowan-Dickie - together with Exeter’s Sam Hill and Joel Conlon - helped provide a large nucleus of the highly successful England Under-20s side that lifted the Junior World Championships in France.

Bath’s Anthony Watson, another who will figure on Saturday night, was another member of that squad and Slade says it’s been great to have a number of familiar faces around camp to help the settling in process.

“All of us boys were playing for the Under-20s only two years ago, so it has gone quickly,” continued Slade. “Obviously Nowellsy and Tony have been in the senior squad for a while, but it shows that there is a path for players and that it can be done quickly.

“So much has happened in such a short space of time for me, until last year I had never played 13 before. I remember before one of our pre-season games last season, I went into see the coaches because I thought it was a bit of typo that I was down to play in that position.

“They told me it wasn’t, I started the season there and since then it just kicked on for me. I’ve always said I’ll play anywhere as long as I am in the team each week. Therefore, I don’t mind if I am at 10,12 or 13 - this weekend I’m at 13 and I’ll give it everything that I’ve got.”

Certainly all eyes will be on the combination of Slade and Burgess, the latter of whom last season made the switch from the 13-man game to that of the 15-man game. However, the former doesn’t envisage too many problems having worked closely with the Bath star throughout England’s gruelling pre-season programme.

“He’s an awesome bloke to have inside of you,” said Slade. “In a way it’s a bit similar to what we have at the club in Sam Hill. He’s a big physical bloke who can get you over the gain line and get you that momentum back, which in Test rugby can be crucial.”

But whilst the two will be keen to click as a combination, Slade is equally aware that not every member of the current England training squad will make Lancaster’s final cut - and in some ways the duo will be battling against one another for one of those coveted spots.

Slade added: “I think because we have been so team focused it’s easy to forget you are vying against these boys for spots. Throughout the camp we’ve all been working towards the same goal and helping one another to hit those same goal. Therefore you sometimes need to take a step back to realise you are in competition with one another, but at the same time I think that competition brings the best out in one another and that’s been the good thing about this pre-season.”

Although a large part of England’s preparations have been conducted at their state-of-the-art training base at Pennyhill Park, a fortnight was spent on the other side of the Atlantic with a punishing training regime in Denver.

Slade is unequivocal in his stance that this has been his toughest pre-season to date, but he says the benefits of their efforts are already been shown in training and will continue into game weeks.

“Denver was hard, but it was a good two weeks for us,” he said. “It was long and the training was tough, but I think it brought us all together. I think when you suffer together as group, you become closer and tighter. Just this week we had a fitness test and you can see how much the boys have improved. The sessions have been long and intense, but we’re feeling the benefits now and it’s put us in good shape going into the weekend.”

And whilst England will get to glean the fruits of Slade this weekend, the Plymothian is quick to pay tribute to the efforts that have been put in back here in the Westcountry, particularly by all and sundry at Sandy Park.

“We have done some great work down at Exeter, on and off the field,” explained Slade. “The coaches, particularly Ali Hepher and Ricky Pellow, they’ve done a lot with me ever since I joined the club. But it’s not just me they work with, they put in the extras on all the squad and the boys kind of replicate that back.

“I think the way we have progressed has been massive and we’ve really pushed on as a club. I think you can see it through the results we have achieved and also with the way guys are now getting recognised at international level. As I said, it’s great that we’ve got four guys in this squad right now, but hopefully if we carry on in the same vein it will be even more in the future.”