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Slade's near-miss: When the injury happened last week it was a case of 'oh no, not now'

By Chris Jones
Exeter's Henry Slade is glad his training ground injury hasn't ruined his England RWC hopes (Photo by Dave Rogers/Getty Images)

Despite his recent emergence as one of England’s key attacking weapons, Henry Slade feared his World Cup dream was over last week after damaging his left knee in training.

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Confined to wearing a knee brace, the Exeter midfielder won’t be able to train fully for at least two weeks as England complete their remaining three-match warm-up schedule against Wales, Ireland and Italy before heading to Japan. 

However, Slade is relieved that he didn’t suffer the same fate as Wales out-half Gareth Anscombe, who was robbed of his place at the World Cup by the knee injury he suffered in the defeat to England last Sunday.

At 26, Slade is the youngest of England’s four centres in their 31-man squad. However, he would be the first midfield name written down on the teamsheet by coach Eddie Jones. 

His main rival for the key No13 role is Bath’s Jonathan Joseph, who impressed in his return from injury in Sunday’s win over the Welsh at Twickenham, while Piers Francis and Manu Tuilagi are fighting it out for the inside centre role.

(Continue reading below…)

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Slade said: “At the time it happened it was a case of ‘oh no, not now’. But I had the scan and it came back OK. It could have been a lot worse and I could have missed the tournament. 

“I have now got a couple more weeks with the knee. It happened in training and hopefully, those effects will be reversed. I will still be doing cardiovascular work. We have had a tough pre-season and injuries are just part of the sport. Thankfully, it’s not too bad.”

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Slade was left frustrated and largely unused by former head coach Stuart Lancaster during the failed 2015 World Cup campaign that saw England crash out before the knockout stages despite being the host nation. 

The Exeter player had to wait until the final “dead rubber” pool match with Uruguay to get his chance in the tournament and not even a try in the 60-3 win could make up for being left largely on the sidelines during the campaign.

Memories of that tournament are now fuelling Slade’s desire to make an impact in Japan. “My overriding memory from 2015 is frustration. Particularly being in the squad and not getting to play a part until it was too late. Particularly as there was an injury to JJ (Jonathan Joseph) and I didn’t get a chance to play.

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“You can learn from defeats but as a squad, we are in a much better place now compared to the 2015 World Cup and the boys feel genuinely confident with each other which is a big thing. 

“A lot of work has gone into our relationships off the pitch which is beneficial. Communication is really good and we have learnt a lot from the last World Cup. We are in a good place. You can never take anything for granted. Four years ago you may have wanted to be in this position of being picked again, but there is a lot of hard work needed to make it happen.

“I can’t remember how the selection was done four years ago, although it did go down to the wire. It’s nice to know early which allows the squad to continue to build relationships and bed in. That really helps on the pitch. 

“I’m really pleased to see JJ back because he has been out for so long with injury and we will be pushing each other, which brings the best out of both of us. This World Cup is a massive thing for the whole squad because no one will be playing every minute of every game. It will be a 31 man job to win the World Cup.”

WATCH: England skipper Owen Farrell talks to Nick Heath of RugbyPass at the official RWC squad announcement

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Adrian 18 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
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Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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