Jonny Wilkinson’s just top draw for star-struck Henry Slade
Yet both are now distinct possibilities after Slade’s club, Exeter, drew Heineken Cup holders Toulon in next season’s competition, and you could have knocked the England U20s fly-half down with a feather when The Rugby Paper broke the news to him.
“That’ll be awesome,” Slade said. “I first started playing rugby when I was nine, just before England won the World Cup in 2003, so Jonny’s been my hero ever since.
“He’s a great player and a real role model to guys like me. It’s the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch that is something all young players should aspire to.
“I’ve never had the chance to meet him but it’s something I’d love to do. It would be great to sit down and chat with him and learn things from his experience.
“As for being on the same pitch? Well, that’s a long way off but it would be a dream come true.”
Exeter Chiefs assistant coach Ali Hepher also hailed his side’s plum draw against Toulon as a “fantastic prospect.”
Being paired with the superstar-laden French outfit is a fitting reward for Chiefs who assured themselves of a second successive campaign in European rugby’s premier club competition by winning six of their last seven Premiership matches.
The presence of Wilkinson & Co will guarantee a packed house at Sandy Park, and with Glasgow and Cardiff Blues also in Exeter’s group it will be fascinating to see how they fare after last season’s titanic jousts with Clermont and Leinster. “It’s a fantastic prospect,” said Hepher, who is leading pre-season preparations in the absence of Rob Baxter, currently on tour with England.
“It gives the players the opportunity to go up against some world-class individuals, which is something they’ll relish.
“We’ve learnt a lot from our trip to Clermont last season and we’ll be excited about the fixture and taking on the champions.
“There’s no greater motivation and opportunity out there and we’re excited about being in the Heineken Cup for the second year on the trot. With the quality of rugby that we played at the end of last season, we’ll hope to cause these teams some problems.”
Premiership winners Leicester, meanwhile, can be hopeful of progressing from a Pool containing Montpellier, Ulster and Treviso, although rugby director Richard Cockerill is rightly wary of the challenge all three opponents will pose.
Cockerill said: “Ulster reached the Heineken Cup final just a year ago and topped the PRO12 table this year, Montpellier made the Top 14 play-offs and were beaten by the eventual champions Castres and Treviso are always tough.”
Saracens received as kind a draw as could be expected, being pitted with Toulouse, Connacht and Zebre, but England’s three other representatives were not so lucky and will do well to make it through to the quarter-finals.
Premiership runners-up Northampton must overcome 2012 Heineken Cup winners Leinster, Top 14 champions Castres and perennial Welsh challengers Ospreys, while Gloucester face a stiff task against Munster, Perpignan and Edinburgh.
Harlequins were handed a stinker, though, after being plunged into a ‘Pool of Death’ with Scarlets and French moneybags duo Racing Metro and Clermont, both of whom boast budgets three times bigger than the Twickenham Stoop outfit.
Quins boss Conor O’Shea put on a brave face, saying: “It is incredibly challenging to have to play two superpowers of not just French, but also European rugby in our Pool. And Scarlets are another club with great tradition and talented players.
“But we have everything to play for and can’t wait to get started.”
