Henry Slade reveals Jonny Wilkinson’s role in earning his England recall

Henry Slade has revealed that advice from World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson paved the way for his England return.

Until his comeback on this month’s continent-hopping tour, Slade’s most recent appearance was against Argentina in November – a match he feared might be his final outing at Allianz Stadium.

He has fallen in and out of favour since Steve Borthwick took over as head coach in 2022 and, despite being awarded an enhanced England contract for 2025-26, he saw converted wing Tommy Freeman take over at outside centre.

But Slade’s outstanding form as Exeter reached the Gallagher Prem final, coupled with the Freeman experiment being put on pause as injuries bite, have propelled him back into the starting XV.

While his mum Jayne and wife Megan have proved helpful sounding boards, it is conversations with Wilkinson during coaching sessions with the hero of England’s 2003 World Cup triumph that have made the difference.

“My career has not been plain sailing, there have been ups and downs and times when I’ve had to come back and prove people wrong,” Slade said.

“I speak to Jonny Wilkinson. He comes into camp and does a lot of kicking stuff with us. He’s been good to talk to about things and he said you’ve just got to control what you can control.

“You’ve got to believe in yourself and work hard and stick to the process and hopefully the opportunity comes around again.

“It’s all you can do because selection is out of your hands – it’s opinions and how other people want to piece a team together.

“For me it’s about is how well I prep my body each day, how I turn up for training and how well I play for Exeter at the weekend.

“Taking it day by day, creating good habits and putting good performances together are hopefully enough to get another shot, and thankfully for me they have been enough.”

Slade produced a lively cameo off the bench against South Africa on July 4 and, having been restored to the number 13 jersey for Fiji last Saturday, he was influential in attack when the game opened up in the second half.

Borthwick on Thursday names his team to take on the Pumas, who must be dispatched if the 11-try destruction of Fiji is to mark a new direction following a five-Test losing run.

A continuation of the Seb Atkinson-Slade partnership is the most likely centre pairing, but South Africa-born Benhard Janse van Rensburg made a try-scoring debut at Hill Dickinson Stadium and Borthwick may want to see how he responds to a fuller role.

Slade has been impressed by Van Rensburg, who only qualified for England on the five-year residency rule last Wednesday.

“Benhard’s a great player,” Slade said. “He’s physical but he’s got good skills as well. He’s been outstanding for Bristol for a long time now.

“Centre is such an interesting position because there are so many different ways to play it and we have a lot of different options in the country.

“That’s why I say selection is out of your control. It depends on what Steve’s looking for and what sort of game-plan he’s after. He’s got lots of options.”