It was not long after South Africa’s defeat by New Zealand at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium in July last year that Henry Slade discovered the news he would not figure in England’s plans at the World Cup in France.
It is doubtful if Slade had paid much attention to the Springboks’ 35-20 defeat at the time; or that the All Blacks had managed to cross for four tries as the Exeter Chiefs centre was left devastated by Steve Borthwick’s decision. He certainly could not have known how two seemingly unconnected events would come to shape his new-found and unlikely role as England’s defensive enforcer here in New Zealand.
Felix Jones was in Auckland on July 15 last year and saw first-hand how the All Blacks had managed to expose the Springboks’ defensive line. The Irishman, who at the time was South Africa’s defence coach, admits it was a night that he “learned a lot” ahead of their successful defence of the World Cup in France.
“Any time you play against New Zealand, you have to be at such a level, tactically, execution-wise, physically and intensity… You have to be right at your upper levels there to be in the mix with it,” said Jones.
“The biggest learnings I’ve had as a coach were from playing New Zealand, whether that is winning or losing, about what works and what doesn’t work. You’ve got to be at the top of your game, basically.”
Back in Pennyhill Park, Slade was pondering his England future. The World Cup snub was such that he was open to a lucrative move to France, with several clubs interested. There had been an exodus from Exeter but critically he decided to stay. After a phone call with Borthwick, he wanted to fight for his place, however lucrative the rewards that were on offer across the English Channel.
“Talks went on with Exeter and Steve and the way the season was going I thought it was quite an exciting time to be at the Chiefs,” said Slade. “I’ve been there for a long time, but it felt like a fresh start. To be able to force my way back into the squad was a big factor. I want to play for England. It’s fantastic to be able to play for your country, so that was definitely a big factor that allowed me to stay, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.”
Critically for Slade, while England were toiling their way to third place at the World Cup, Exeter brought in a new defensive system under the former Springboks Sevens defence coach Omar Mouneimne, one that was almost identical to the blitz defence that Jones was fine-tuning for the Springboks in France.
Alongside Slade in the Exeter backline was at the time the relatively unknown 20-year-old winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, whose meteoric rise on the international stage continued with a try in the 16-15 defeat against the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday.
“With whatever or everything that I’ve done this season has definitely been as a result of him,” said Slade. “I feel like all my best performances, I’ve been playing with him, and he gives me advice on the pitch off the pitch. I feel like I can always talk to him.
“I’ve been with him the whole of this year, and it’s been amazing. He’s an unbelievable player, probably the best, if not one of the best that I’ve played. Obviously, I’ve only played with a handful of people. But it’s amazing to be in this company.”
As Slade’s game enjoyed a new lease of life as Exeter’s senior pro, his resilience and renewed hunger did not go unnoticed by Borthwick. The 30-year-old was recalled for the start of the Six Nations campaign where Jones had taken charge of the England defence as one of Borthwick’s most significant signings of his coaching staff.
The body of work that lay ahead of Jones was enormous, but in Slade he found a ready-made disciple. Slade, despite his boy band good looks, has always had a physical edge to him, one that Jones himself remembers when he played against him in an Irish Wolfhounds versus England Saxons game at Musgrave Park in 2015, a game most noticeable for Sam Burgess’ rugby union international debut. It was Slade, however, who scored 13 points in England’s 18-9 victory.
“I’ve always really rated him,” said Jones, who won 13 caps for Ireland before injury forced him to retire at the age of 28.
“We were joking the other day as we saw a clip of Ireland A v England A. I was trying to steal a ball, and we had a bit of argy-bargy and he came to shove me off the ball and was laughing away at that. It’s mad to think that.
“We have a good relationship, chat a lot, and spend a lot of time together trying to prepare the team and think of the things that will trouble us, but also the messages that power us. He’s been a big leader there. He’s incredible.”
What stood out for Borthwick was his understanding of the type of system Jones was attempting to implement not only made him a key defensive leader in the England backline but he was also able to help others learn the system, including Feyi-Waboso. Slade’s pace, which for the majority of his international career, had mainly been deployed in attack.
“The ground that Henry covers is astounding,” said one source. “His personal performance within the system has been at a really high standard, and his partnership with Manny has been excellent.”
It is a sentiment that New Zealand would echo after the first Test in Dunedin. It was as early as the eighth minute that Slade stunned the All Blacks’ backline, by shooting up and flooring Jordie Barrett, forcing a turnover that almost led to a try by Feyi-Waboso, only for the play to be called back because of a knock-on by Slade in contact.
England would finish the contest having made 198 tackles to 109 by New Zealand. The blitz did not always work, when tackles on the edge did not stick, but here was Scott Robertson, the All Blacks head coach. “There’s an art to it, we knew they would be coming and flying,” he said. “There are some opportunities there we will work on again and trust ourselves.”
England are trusting themselves to hunt down the All Blacks’ backline again. Significantly, Robertson made a huge tactical shift in the second half last Saturday, opting for a long kicking game to check England’s blitz.
England know they have to intensify the pressure, with Slade at the fore, if they are to have a chance of inflicting a first defeat of the All Blacks at Eden Park since France’s victory in 1994.
“This year Henry Slade’s leadership, particularly around defence, has been excellent,” said Borthwick. “All the numbers I have on the work rate for Sladey are beyond anything from the Six Nations or the World Cup. He is key in our defensive system with Felix in helping other players develop into that system.
“The easy thing for Henry Slade to have done would have been to play out another year at Exeter and then gone off to France, because that was a difficult selection around that World Cup squad.
“But he said he wanted to play for England and he is clearly passionate about Exeter Chiefs and he is passionate about England. He has improved his game. He has taken that disappointment and turned it into a positive. He would be a great example to show every player who has a disappointment. Because that was a big disappointment, missing out on the World Cup squad. To turn that around and take his game forward was a brilliant example of resilience and toughness. It is not just his performance but his leadership of this team.”
Fabien Galthie has picked a second-choice squad for July's NZ Tests.