Slade's inclusion leaves fans hopeful of an England midfield revival
Henry Slade’s return to the England squad is being welcomed after missing the first two rounds of Six Nations action.
The Exeter Chiefs centre was a mainstay of Eddie Jones’ side in 2019, either in the starting XV or from the bench, but has been recovering from a fractured ankle which he sustained in December.
He is in the 25-man England training squad ahead of Ireland’s visit to Twickenham on February 23 alongside centre partner Manu Tuilagi, who missed the Calcutta Cup clash after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury against France the week before.
Slade’s partnership with Tuilagi was one of the biggest breakthroughs of 2019 for Jones, and the way he was able to chop and change between those two – and other combinations with George Ford and Owen Farrell – meant the Australian always had options for whoever England were playing.
This was most clearly shown in the World Cup where the Farrell-Tuilagi-Slade combination was used to combat a strong Australian midfield in the quarter-final, but the Ford-Farrell-Tuilagi combination was utilised a week later against the All Blacks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8cHLUbAnsO/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
No country has needed someone more than england need @Sladey_10 right now. Where are England's trys coming from?? THIS MAN!
— RJ WINSTON (@RJWINSTON1) February 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/RichNeasom/status/1227300343316439042?s=20
Much needed!!!
— Ryan Mcsween (@RyanMcsweeney20) February 11, 2020
Definitely needs to be in the squad.
— Stuart Lusted (@YattonStu) February 11, 2020
Not only does Slade have a high class distributing and offloading game at outside centre, but his kicking game is fundamental to the way in which England play, particularly with Jonny May chasing. His subtlety and creativity complement Tuilagi’s power, which is what made them so dangerous.
Even if Jones opted to play Ford at fly-half, Farrell at inside centre and Tuilagi in the 13 shirt, Slade still provided a lot of options from the bench with the players being so versatile positionally.
To play the bulk of the Six Nations so far without two of England’s most crucial midfield players last year has cost them.
2 kicks from 5 not good stats. But agree either play him at 10 or have him in the bench and swap for ford. Can we have Tuilagi and slade fit for the next game, miss their centre partnership we definitely need that back again.
— Victoria Squires (@Vikki_squires) February 8, 2020
I think we miss Slade and Nowell the most. I honestly don’t see the point of keeping Daly in the team, he doesn’t fit the England back line and there are better options. Would love Thorley to get his chance.
— Steve (@duffers_86) February 6, 2020
Tuilagi lasted less than 20 minutes in the loss to France, meaning Jonathan Joseph partnered Farrell and Ford, which proved to be fairly lightweight against a brutal French defence.
The potential return of both Tuilagi and Slade could make an immeasurable impact in England’s hopes of beating Ireland, particularly after the two of them were so effective in the same fixture at the Aviva Stadium last year.
Most importantly, it gives Jones options for the rest of the tournament and a chance to get England back on track.
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Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments