England verdict on Henry Slade, their most picked player of 2021
Henry Slade showcased his immense value to England in last Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series win over the Springboks in London. The official match statistics only credited the 28-year-old with just three passes throughout the entire game but each one of those was telling in its involvement in all three of the tries his team scored in their dramatic 27-26 win.
It started on seven minutes with his long right to left pass in the 22 for Manu Tuilagi to score in the corner. His execution carried on in the 17th minute when stepped in at first receiver to take a pass for Ben Youngs from a scrum near the opposition ten-metre line and he passed long from left to right to send Freddie Steward breaking clear in the move that eventually led to Steward scoring some phases later.
Then in the 65th minute, with England having just fallen 17-18 behind, Slade was again the first receiver off a set-piece, taking a pass from sub scrum-half Raffi Quirke on his own ten-metre line following a lineout on halfway. His advance attracted the attention of two Springboks defenders and as he was tackled by one of them, he offloaded in the tackle to his right to put Joe Marchant speeding through the hole that led to the try for the supporting Quirke.
It all amounted to a spectacular reward for Slade for his passing game in an England match where his other stats were seven tackles, two carries and a single kick 24 months on from the World Cup final versus the Springboks where he was held in reserve, Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi the starting midfield chosen by Eddie Jones on that occasion.
First capped in August 2015 under Stuart Lancaster, the current value of Slade to England is reflected in how he has finished 2021 as their most picked player, the Exeter centre starting in nine of their ten matches since last February, a selection consistency that left him one ahead of Jonny May, Maro Itoje, Tom Curry and Ben Youngs who all started on eight occasions in a calendar year where Jones capped a total of 59 players.
"You sensed it would be epic for the moment you stepped out at Twickenham rail station…"
– @heagnel ??? on a classic England rugby day that will live long in the memory#England #ENGvRSA #AutumnNationsSeries #Springbokshttps://t.co/UJEwrjIowN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 20, 2021
“Interesting player,” reckoned Jones when asked for his thoughts on Slade’s evolution into a must-pick starter who has been chosen as a starting midfielder in 14 of England’s 15 post-lockdown matches since October 2020, injury ruling him out of the one match he missed versus Ireland last March. “I can always remember leading up to the World Cup in 2015, he played in a couple of the practice games and was outstanding and then didn’t feature in the World Cup.
“In his first bit of time with us, he was sort of in and out but he has really cemented his spot at 13 now. He has grown in terms of his influence on the team and this (past) week he was vice-captain, which is a great reward for the way his game is developing and the way he is maturing as a player.”
Rookie out-half Marcus Smith, who stepped out of the line to allow Slade to be the first receiver from a set-piece in two of England’s tries against the Springboks, had nothing but admiration for the courage of his teammate to execute those passes amid the new attacking approach under Martin Gleeson, one of the three new assistants that came into the set-up for the Autumn Nations Series.
“Martin has been amazing for us as an attacking unit for England and he is full of ideas,” said Smith. “He always does it with a smile on his face. It is brilliant to work with someone like that and I have learned a huge amount from him and I will keep in contact with him over the next few weeks.
“It’s massively courageous of Henry to throw that ball to Freddie and then release our winger in the open because no other team has done that before. We worked hard during the week and to be able to put it on show in front of all our friends and family was special. It’s a day this group will never forget for sure.”
A debate that will now be deliberated this winter is whether Slade could potentially run the No12 channel long-term and keep skipper Owen Farrell out of the side. Inside centre Farrell only featured in one of England’s three November matches and he faces a race to be fit for the start of the 2022 Six Nations following an ankle operation.
Tuilagi was the starting No12 versus the Springboks but he strained his hamstring when diving in at the corner for his score, leaving Slade moving in one position in the backline for the 73 remaining minutes of the match.
“They adapted really well,” reckoned Jones. “Henry had to go in one slot, Marchant has to move in one slot but Marchant has got a lot of experience playing 13 for his club and Max Malins is an outstanding winger. I thought they adapted very well in the circumstances.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments