New season excites Slade
By Mark Stevens
30/8/18
Henry Slade admits the hurt of missing out on a second league crown is a pain he doesn’t want to experience again as he gears up for the start of the new Gallagher Premiership this Saturday.
The Exeter and England star was featuring in his third successive Premiership Final when the Chiefs tackled rivals Saracens at Twickenham last May.
However, just 12 months after experiencing the high of lifting English rugby’s top prize for the first time with an extra-time victory over Wasps, Devon’s finest were again picked off in the showpiece event by Saracens - who also won in 2016 against the Chiefs - 37-10.
Unlike the first defeat, where the Chiefs and the travelling Tribe appeared just happy to be part of the big-match atmosphere for the first time in the club’s history, last season’s reverse cut more deeply within the ranks.
“We had a brilliant year last year,” explained Slade. “Not only did we play some really good rugby through the course of the season, but we finished the regular season top of the table for the first time.
“We got back to the final again, which was another great achievement from the boys, but on the day we just came up short against a very good Saracens side.That loss was tough to take, especially when you think about the effort we had put in.
“After the match it felt different in the changing rooms compared to the first final. All the boys were hurting and I remember saying afterwards that I didn’t want that feeling again.”
And this weekend Slade and the Chiefs have their first opportunity to get back into the Premiership hot-seat, tackling the threat of 10-times champions, Leicester Tigers at Sandy Park (4:30pm).
“We’re all really excited to get the season going again,” said Slade, who featured in all three of England summer Test matches against South Africa. “We’re at home, which is good, and every time you play here in front of our fans it’s always pretty special.
“Every home game we tend to get a great turnout and it will be the same this weekend. It’s a tough start for us, Leicester are a very tough team, but likewise we’re a very tough team, especially at home, and as a group we can’t wait to get out there and try and win some games.”
Buoyed by back-to-back pre-season victories over Pro14 rivals Cardiff Blues (38-10) and Munster (12-0), Slade admits the mood within the Chiefs camp is vibrant ahead of what will be the club’s ninth top-flight campaign.
“We’ve had some good wins in pre-season and played some good rugby as well,” he added. “Training has gone well and we’ve cranked things up quite a bit over the last few weeks.
“Within ourselves, the boys are feeling good, they are in good shape, and we’re excited to get the weekend started now.”
Saturday’s clash will be the first time since 2012 that the Chiefs have kicked-off their season on home soil. On that occasion, Rob Baxter’s side defeated Sale Sharks 43-6.