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Henry Slade breaks silence on Exeter Chiefs future amid exit rumours
By Neil Fissler
Henry Slade has indicated that he is ready to sit down with Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter and pledge the rest of his career to the Sandy Park outfit.
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Plymouth-born Slade, who will be 33 next March, is out of contract at the end of the season and is about to start talks on what is widely expected to be the last big contract of his career.
The outside-centre who joined the Chiefs from his hometown club, Plymouth Albion, in 2012, admits that he is settled in Devon’s second city and is edging towards staying.
“I will have to have that conversation this year. Fairly soon, I guess. I love playing here. My family is from here. You can almost see my house from here.
“My parents get to come and watch me every week. I am raising my kids here. It’s a great part of the world. You never say never with things when your contract has come up.
“You never know what Rob (Baxter) is going to offer me or what is elsewhere. But I am more than happy here,” Slade tells RugbyPass.
Slade, who holds one of the enhanced EPS contracts, has been a target for French clubs, especially two years ago when there was a huge exodus across the Channel and he was one of the names being touted for a move to R360.
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“I can’t talk too much about that. No one really knows too much about it. There has been hearsay and things, but there has not been loads of factual information thrown about.
“Obviously, it is an exciting prospect. Players’ careers are short, and with the amount of money being thrown about, the lure of playing for England is a massive thing.
“If things get put on the table, you never know, but playing for England is a huge lure, and that is going to keep me and probably a lot of players in the league to have the opportunity to play for your country.
“So, when all the info is out there, we’ll make a decision, but as players right now, we don’t know too much. But nothing changes for England players.
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“You have never been able to play anywhere else other than England to play for England,” added Slade, who has won 73 caps since breaking into the England set-up over a decade ago.