Nick Cain talks to Leicester captain Ed Slater
The first of them, when Slater was given the honour of leading England in their 38-7 midweek tour victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch just over a year ago, proved to be bittersweet for the barrelling lock. After an outstanding performance he disappeared off the radar for most of this season, having discovered afterwards that he had played the last hour of the Crusaders match with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
It remains a mystery how Slater managed to stay on the field as a highly effective force rather than be carted off on a stretcher. He says matter-of-factly: “It was about 20 to 30 minutes into the game when I did an innocuous step off my left foot and the ACL snapped. There wasn’t great deal of pain, it just felt like a bang, and it didn’t become swollen until afterwards.”
That consigned him to watching most of Leicester’s frustrating, inconsistent season from the sidelines recuperating from knee surgery before adding impetus to the Tigers late Premiership play-off bid after an earlier than expected return to action.
Having played in the end-of-season wins over Wasps and Northampton, Slater was part of the Tigers outfit that was shredded by the Bath backline in the semi-finals. However, having been picked for the England XV against the Barbarians he finished a difficult season on a high note as the bulwark in an impressive Red Rose forward effort that brought a 73-point rout.
Slater was a commanding figure, and did himself a power of good by scoring from a driving maul which he marshalled from start to finish. It is this ability to rumble and be ruthless in execution that could make Slater indispensible.
Another important benefit that the 26-year-old brings is versatility, because his handling skills, footballing instincts and mobility – fine-tuned in three years of club rugby in Sydney with Easts – also make him a handy blindside flanker.
It earned Slater a short-term junior contract with the Waratahs before he headed back to the UK, joined Nottingham, and then five years ago was offered a contract at his home-town club, Leicester.
His progress since then has been rapid, and although a first full cap has so far eluded him, Slater could yet provide England with a blindside flanker capable of going toe-to-toe with the tank-like South African back-rower, Willem Alberts.
Ask Slater how easy is it to move between lock and blindside and he says: “There are a lot of benefits from being a lock who has the skill set to play six, especially with the abrasive side a lock brings. I don’t change the way I play in either position, and I like to think that I’m a lock with the skill to be a blindside, and a blindside with the abrasiveness of a lock.”
Another bonus for Slater is that getting into optimum condition has not been an issue, and, despite the long lay-off, he has not felt handicapped going into the England training camp.
“I couldn’t have played a game for Leicester at the end of last season if I wasn’t a hundred per cent confident in my physical fitness. Then the match fitness came against Wasps, Northampton, Bath and the Barbarians. So, I don’t see any disadvantage other than from a form perspective after missing 10 months of rugby.”
Slater says he has had the benefit of rubbing shoulders with Brad Thorn at Welford Road this season, and he is unstinting in his praise of the the All Black warhorse: “He’s one of the most professional blokes I’ve played with, and has a great mentality. Brad’s one of the best locks in the world, and has played with the best. I’ve listened to his advice carefully. We’re close, and I’d like to think we’ll remain good friends even though he’s left Leicester.”
Slater was grateful for Thorn’s counsel because the ACL rehab was more difficult than he anticipated. “It was a huge challenge – much harder than I imagined. I thought it would be surgery, rehab, no dramas. The reality is there are lots of ups and downs. You’d be doing well, then have a two-week setback and have to work through it.
He continues: “I’d never had serious injury before, and there was a lot of frustration watching Leicester not playing as well as I’d hoped, while missing out with injury in my first year as captain.You spend your club life in the rehab room.”
Slater says the positive side of the injury was that it also allowed him more time with his family.
“My wife and I had our first child, daughter Florence, last July, so it was a good thing for my family. I was in Monday to Friday doing rehab, and spending the rest of the time learning the ropes as a dad. Now we’ve got another daughter due at the end of September.”
He says that by taking a step back on the sidelines he could see things at Tigers from a different vantage point. “My first idea of a captain is one who leads on the pitch and in training. But I couldn’t do that – however, I got a better view of the coaches and how difficult it can be for them.
“I also got a view of how players are responding to training because there are obviously times when players don’t train as well as you’d like. It allowed me a better perspective.”
Slater’s maturity is evident in his level response to Stuart Lancaster‘s decision to talk to every player and tell them where they are in the pecking order.
“We had a really positive chat, but there’s great competition in the second row with seven locks in camp and only four to go through.”
That steadiness is also reflected in his answer to which team he sees as the biggest threat to England advancing to the last eight, Australia or Wales?
“They are two completely different sides. Australia are an extremely smart side who make life very difficult at the breakdown, while Wales will be very fit and also fast and skilful. But we have to concentrate on our fitness and being at the top of our game.”
If Slater gets to the top of his, and is given the chance to show it in the autumn warm-ups, his World Cup claims will be hard to ignore.
