Henry Slade’s definitely in frame for World Cup says Jon Callard
Slade’s brush with the Baa- Baas’ hard men left him battered, bruised and with nine stitches in an eye wound that would have flattened lesser men.
But the 21-year-old left Twickenham with his reputation enhanced and former England full-back Callard believes great things lie ahead – if Slade gains more Premiership experience and maintains his startling rate of progress.
“Henry’s physically and mentally tough,” Callard told The Rugby Paper. “If you look at his defensive performance against Leicester at Welford Road in the league, it’s one of the best I’ve seen from an inside back for a long while.
“We saw more of that against the Barbarians and exposure on the big stage in front of that crowd, especially with his goal-kicking, will help his development no end.
“The senior England management are very impressed with his attitude and he’s stood out in training over the last three weeks. The future is very bright for Henry and we’ve always talked about what’s available to England right now.
“Owen Farrell’s terrific, George Ford‘s proving his worth, Freddie Burns will get his form back, Danny Cipriani’s playing well and Stephen Myler has been outstanding. But you can definitely add Henry Slade to that group as well.
“That’s six top quality fly-halves, which is fantastic, but in Henry’s case it’s now going to come down to opportunity. If he continues to get that down at Exeter, there’s no doubt in my mind he can challenge for a senior spot.”
For his part, Slade’s admits his season could not have been bettered.
A Junior World Cup winner with England last summer, the Plymouth-born playmaker featured in 18 Premiership matches for Chiefs and started big Heineken Cup matches against Cardiff, Glasgow and Toulon, facing his hero Jonny Wilkinson.
“The season has surpassed a lot of my expectations,” Slade told The Rugby Paper.
“I didn’t expect to be starting in the Premiership or Europe, or playing for the Saxons or England, so it’s been great to be involved and turning out against the Baa-Baas was awesome.
“The JWC was a great experience for us boys and if you look at the number playing in the Premiership this season, like me, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell, Sam Hill, Elliott Stooke, Ollie Devoto and Anthony Watson, it’s really good.
“If you come out of the 20s and you’re a promising player but don’t get any game time, your progression stops. But if you do get given that chance to play you can keep pushing on – and that’s what a lot of us have done.”
As for his World Cup hopes, Slade adds: “2015 would be great but all I can do is concentrate on playing well for Exeter.
“But the chances are there and it was awesome seeing Nowellsy playing for England in the Six Nations. Dickie’s pushing on with England now and I’m a little bit jealous seeing him in New Zealand, but I wish those guys all the best.
“I’ll keep working hard on my game and then selection is down to the coaches. Hopefully, Stuart Lancaster will be watching.”
NEALE HARVEY
