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England No 10’s George Ford and Fin Smith have both snubbed interest from rugby's rebel R360 league to stay at their PREM Rugby employers Sale and Northampton respectively - and now another international team-mate appears to have done the same.
Henry Slade has declared his ambition to end his career as a one-club man, raising the likelihood he will be the next England international to shun the breakaway setup.
The experienced centre has played his entire professional career with Exeter and hopes to re-sign with the Chiefs. Slade’s Sandy Park contract expires at the end of the season.
Given his former agent Leigh Hinton is now heading up the recruitment for R360, Slade has been seen as a player of interest to the new competition.
But the 32-year-old said it would be ‘awesome’ to stay a Chief – the team with which he made his professional debut in 2013.
He added: ‘I love playing here. My family is from here. I am raising my kids here. You never say never with things when your contract comes up. But I am more than happy here.’
This week, England’s RFU joined forces with rugby’s other major unions to confirm any players who sign for R360 – which is slated to start in 2026 – will be banned from playing Test rugby. Slade described the R360 proposal as an ‘exciting prospect.’
He was a surprising omission from his country’s 2023 World Cup squad but reaffirmed his commitment to representing England at international level.
Henry Slade in action for Exeter in the thrilling 33-33 draw at Northampton last month
Slade with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ethan Roots after last year's Six Nations win over Wales
‘The lure of playing for England is a massive thing that is going to keep myself and probably a lot of players in the league,’ Slade said.
‘You get to play at Twickenham in front of 82,000 people. Money can't buy those experiences. Playing at World Cups is a massive draw. ‘There is never a guarantee, as I found out last time, but it is definitely a big part of staying around.
‘If I keep getting picked for England, I would love to go to another World Cup.’
Slade said he expected to begin contract talks with Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter ‘fairly soon’ and hopes to add to his 73 England caps this autumn.
The fact he was one of 25 players to be handed an enhanced elite player squad contract by national head coach Steve Borthiwck at the start of the campaign shows he still remains very much a key player at international level.
