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The last two weeks have said everything about Henry Slade’s importance to this England side. After undergoing shoulder surgery in the summer after the tour of New Zealand, the Exeter centre was in a race against time to be available for another meeting with the All Blacks at the start of the Autumn Nations Series. Time was tight – any hitch in his recovery would have rendered him unavailable.
But England were prepared to make every effort to ensure he was fit and ready. Last Wednesday evening, while the rest of the squad enjoyed a night watching Barcelona thrash Bayern Munich, Slade scrambled back to Exeter in order to be ready to play against Harlequins on Sunday.
The 54 minutes he played at Sandy Park were his first of the season, and seen as vital to enable him to be ready to take on New Zealand this weekend. With no specialist centre cover on a bench that includes six forwards, it is clear that England trust him.
“[Exeter coach] Rob Baxter and I spoke about the intention Henry would leave the England camp and return to Exeter,” Borthwick explained of a decision that worked for all parties. “I spoke to Rob about what the right thing to do was. Sladey said he wanted to get on the field and play for his club. I backed that decision. Like I said, he’s an experienced player and knows what he needs. I back that.
“When you have the shoulder surgery he had, he was able to be running on his feet [quickly]. He’s as fit as I’ve ever seen him. He’s in fantastic condition. He feels in great shape. He’s a player who is energised and full of energy. He’ll go really well on Saturday.”
It is not much more than a year since Slade failed to make the cut for Steve Borthwick’s World Cup squad; now he is one of the England coach’s key figures. The 31-year-old has served as a vice captain at times this year, and has been a vital driver in their adopting of a fast linespeed led blitz defensive system, shooting up in the 13 channel that is so often a pivot point.
It marks a significant career turnaround for a player who, in a different world, could have found his life at Test level ebbing away. Before renewing with Exeter last season, Slade considered a switch to France, one already made by a number of close chums at Chiefs including Jack Nowell. It would been an understandable move, particularly after the disappointment of not making Borthwick’s party in France.
But Slade stayed and earned his place back. His importance at club level has been underlined by Exeter’s horror start to the Premiership season in his absence and his influence is only growing with England. For so long a spare wheel to the George Ford/Owen Farrell vehicle, it is now hard to imagine an England midfield without Slade in it. With Ford only on the bench after his own return from injury, the outside centre is England’s most experienced starting back by a distance.
“Sladey is a really important player for us,” Borthwick said. “He’s an experienced Test match player, now more than ever. He’s in fantastic condition. He’s grown as a leader within this team. We’ve spoken a lot about the leadership of this team and he’s grown in a number of different areas as well.”
Slade’s rapid return also displays Borthwick’s predilection for a settled side. There are few changes to the group that finished up at Eden Park in England’s last outing, with a fit-again Ellis Genge back into the front row and Ben Spencer winning the fight to deputise for the absent Alex Mitchell. On the openside, Tom Curry is preferred to Sam Underhill. Borthwick feels the Bath flanker is lacking a bit of sharpness after ankle surgery; by contrast, Curry is getting back to his best after missing most of last season with a career-threatening hip problem.
Tom’s twin brother Ben is waiting in reserve as one of six forwards on the bench. With Harry Randall and George Ford – specialists at nine and ten respectively – the sole backs cover, it leaves England light of outside back options should injury strike. Borthwick suggested that the versatility of Tommy Freeman, George Furbank and Marcus Smith ensured adequate options should England need to adjust, while also hinting at a reprise of the Ben Earl at centre ploy seen briefly at the end of the win over Japan earlier this year.
It is a gamble, but one that Borthwick is prepared to take. A six/two bench split has been something that the coach has been keen to explore for a while, having seen how teams like South Africa have used their bench forward might so effectively. England were frustrated by how they let winnable games slip away from them in each of the Tests on the tour of New Zealand, and hope that a beefier bench can help combat the All Blacks’s replacements.
“I think when you’re playing against New Zealand, [it’s about] the intensity of the game and the intensity of those forward exchanges,” the head coach outlined. “We know they’ve got a very powerful forward pack, and they are a team that that move the ball really well.
“The intensity of those forward exchanges is significant. And clearly, as we reflected upon the last couple games played against and their ability to to win that final quarter, we feel that this is one element that works towards us getting the result we want.”
England team to face New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (Saturday 2 November, 3.10pm GMT)
Starting XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George (capt.), 3 Will Stuart; 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Martin; 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Ben Spencer, 10 Marcus Smith; 11 Tommy Freeman, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 13 Henry Slade, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; 15 George Furbank.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Dombrandt; 22 Harry Randall, 23 George Ford.
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