Jeremy Guscott: Yes, Henry Slade has England potential – but at fly-half

Henry Slade is one of those naturally talented, instinctive players who coaches will only get the best out of if they loosen the reins. You have to let him go a bit, find his way, and let him play.
Slade showed only in patches at outside-centre during Exeter‘s 31-14 defeat at Bath why he is so highly rated, but from where I was sitting at The Rec he will be unlucky not to have a long England career.
I would have no problem dropping him into the England team at fly-half tomorrow if George Ford was injured.
His skill standard is good enough for him to compete at Test level – and my only concern is that he would be told how to play rather than his natural talent being allowed to flourish.
Slade is a young player with the ability and awareness to run a game at the highest level, and tinkering with that is something that coaches should resist. He’s blessed with a skill-set that not many players have – whether they are 21 or 31 – and with better players around him at Test level he would rise to the challenge.
Slade is one of those players I describe as one ‘who sees into the future’, because his remarkable sense of anticipation gives him time on the ball that others don’t have.
The message with Slade is the same as it is with Ford. Don’t coach out of them their ability to play, see, and feel the game.
The challenges facing Slade are considerable. The first is that he is playing in an era in which he has to compete for the England fly-half shirt with Ford and Owen Farrell.
At the moment my hunch is that he’s not better than Ford at 10, but, on club form, I would put him ahead of Farrell because he’s a better intuitive fly-half. The only reservation I have is that we are not sure what his pressure goal-kicking is like because Gareth Steenson does those duties for Exeter.
The only other concern is that he is playing at outside-centre at the moment rather than fly-half.
Here’s the reality check for the youngster’s growing fan club: Slade is going to have to be sensational to get a regular place in the England centre. If Manu Tuilagi is the undisputed number one at 13, then Luther Burrell is next in line – and if Tuilagi is not fit for the start of the Six Nations then you would have Brad Barritt at inside-centre and Burrell at outside-centre before you thought of Slade.
Against Bath he showed a couple of nice moves, including beating Ford comfortably on one occasion. However, at other times you saw his tactical naivete, especially in contact.
On one occasion he went to ground far too early and gave away a penalty, and on another he was wrapped-up and couldn’t get the ball back.
Although he’s 6ft 2ins and has the frame to put on a bit of bulk, at the moment he lacks the physicality to play centre at international level.
On the plus side Slade’s tackling stood up to scrutiny at 13 against Bath because he has good technique and because his positioning draws the ball-carrier towards playing to his strengths.
It means diminishing the collision impact against bigger men by, for instance, using their forward momentum when they dip into contact to force them to ground.
My advice to Slade is that for his England aspirations to come to fruition he needs to play at fly-half constantly either for Exeter, or, if that doesn’t work out, for someone else.
It is possible that he could develop into a Conrad Smith-style 13 in time, but my feeling is that the foreseeable future he will struggle to hold down an England centre spot. He can cover the position, certainly, but to be an inked-in starter is unlikely.
While Slade can play the game as a passing centre, and can do a job in defence, he lacks the punch on the gain-line that is one of the first requirements at international level these days.
Modern centres threaten the gain-line because they are either very powerful, like Tuilagi, or have devastating breaking speed and deceptive strength like Kyle Eastmond and Matt Giteau.
At the moment Slade would not have the acceleration to bring that threat at inside-centre, or the physical clout that Tuilagi, Burrell or Sam Burgess possess.
Slade is a natural-born 10. In attack he’s bright and sharp, and is as quick – or quicker – than Ford. In defence he’s Dan Carter level, and definitely not one of those fly-halves that you would have to stick out on the wing to hide his deficiencies. In fact, I’d say he’s as strong defensively as Farrell.
Slade is that good that it would be a shame not to get the best out of him. At 21 he’s got international standard ability – but he’s only got it at fly-half.
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on December 29.