Slade aiming to send mates off on a high

By Steve Grace
25/4/23

Exeter Chiefs centre Henry Slade is hoping to help send his departing team-mates out of the Gallagher Premiership club on a high by winning the Heineken Champions Cup for the second time.

Wing Jack Nowell, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, prop Harry Williams, No.8 Sam Simmonds and fly-half Joe Simmonds are all set to join French clubs in the summer, while flanker Dave Ewers is moving to Ulster Rugby and centre Ian Whitten, full-back Stuart Hogg and prop Ben Moon are retiring.

However, they will be looking for one last hurrah for the Devon club, starting with the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Stade Rochelais at Bordeaux’s Matmut Atlantique Stadium on Sunday.

“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet as all the lads are still here,” Slade, who is staying at Sandy Park, told The Times’ Ruck podcast. “On a day off we still go for lunch or out for a drink. I don’t know if it’ll hit me until they do their leaving speeches in a couple of weeks’ time – or next year when I’m at a loose end and want to do something with the boys and they’re not there.

“We have spoken about how it’s been such a long time [that] we’ve been together and it’s now coming to an end. It’s definitely given us massive motivation to send them out on a high and give them a special end to their times here. They’ve given so much and for a lot of them it’s over half their lives they’ve given.

“It’s a fine line, as you need emotional energy to bring the best out of yourselves, but don’t want to go over the edge. We’ve drawn from that well recently. It’s going to be a sad day at the end of the season when we say our goodbyes. It’ll be strange. We really want to give them a hell of a present to go off with — the European Cup would be just that.”

However, first Exeter will have to keep La Rochelle’s hugely versatile and talented Fijian, Levani Botia, quiet if they are to have any chance of emulating their 2020 success in the competition.

“He is as good as any No 7 you’ll see over the ball, can fling passes, has good feet and is almost the perfect rugby player,” Slade said of Botia. “It’s cool to see. It’s not something I could do. He’s a very special guy and a massive part of their team. We’re going to have to be on the money to deal with him.”

The 30-year-old England international is especially looking forward to playing in front of a sell-out crowd of almost 42,000 at the weekend.

“It’s added that extra excitement, selling out a massive stadium,” Slade said. “We did win that one in Covid, but the only thing that took the edge off it was there was no one there to see it happen. That’s definitely driving the boys on.”