{"id":634918,"date":"2026-06-12T13:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/634918\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:44:08","slug":"im-33-but-i-feel-quicker-stronger-and-fitter-than-ever-how-henry-slade-has-exeter-purring-again-exeter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/634918\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m 33 but I feel quicker, stronger and fitter than ever\u2019: how Henry Slade has Exeter purring again | Exeter"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is early afternoon in Exeter<\/a> and Henry Slade is reflecting on his day so far. As a type 1 diabetic he has already injected himself \u201cfour or five times\u201d and a training schedule change has left him playing catchup with his insulin levels. \u201cI had a bit of a stinker today. I had to bang some carbohydrate down me before training but didn\u2019t quite get it right. I was a bit on the low side and didn\u2019t feel very good. I guess it was my fault for not reading the schedule properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later there will be further injections and more monitoring, none of it stress free for someone who wrestles with obsessive compulsive disorder. Plus, there are the demands of having three daughters under six back at home; the youngest, Delphine, is not yet three months old. After an intensely physical match even changing a nappy can be challenging. \u201cWith the last two I\u2019ve spent hours on the floor changing nappies. It\u2019s a nightmare getting up again. We\u2019ve now got nappy-changing tables which are an absolute gamechanger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combine everything and it is a minor miracle that the 33-year-old centre is playing some of the best rugby of his career. These would be demanding times for him and his wife, Megan, even without the looming pressure of a Prem semi-final against Bath at the Rec. Ask Slade if he thinks the general public appreciate the unseen demands of managing irreversible type 1 diabetes \u2013 400,000 people have the autoimmune condition in the UK compared with around 4 million with type 2 \u2013 and the answer is instantaneous. \u201cThey definitely don\u2019t. With diabetes there is a lot of extra stuff to worry about. It plays on your mind a lot, subconsciously and consciously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many more variables every day, let alone on matchdays. It is tricky but the longer I\u2019ve had it the more understanding I\u2019ve developed. There\u2019s always new research and ideas about how to manage things \u2026 I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s becoming easier but maybe I\u2019m getting better at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It certainly looked that way during Exeter\u2019s 32-12 victory over Saracens<\/a> at Sandy Park last Saturday. Replay the footage of Slade\u2019s second-half try and there is almost a boyish relish about the way he helps to convert turnover ball inside his own half into an exhilarating score. This is no weary veteran plodding through the motions but a rejuvenated athlete \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m enjoying the rugby I\u2019m playing at the minute\u201d \u2013 still full of running.<\/p>\n

Henry Slade (right) celebrates beating Saracens to reach the Prem semi-finals. Photograph: Michael Steele\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Along with five successful goal-kicks on a blustery afternoon there was also a sensational corner-flagging tackle on Rotimi Segun that topped the lot. Segun is quick, elusive and had a head start. Not too many players in the world would have sprinted 40 metres back, successfully lassooed their man\u2019s ankles and jolted the ball free to prevent an apparently certain try.<\/p>\n

Strangely, though, people have occasionally seemed to underestimate Slade\u2019s broad palette of skills during his career. They include one or two England coaches; he was omitted from the last World Cup squad<\/a> and has not featured in his country\u2019s last five Tests since forming a productive midfield alliance with Max Ojomoh against Argentina in November. The centre has spent enough time in England environments to know when to employ a diplomatic straight bat but his top-level competitive flame still burns. \u201cThere\u2019s always a desire to play for England and there always will be,\u2019 he says, quietly.<\/p>\n

Admittedly the equation has been complicated by England\u2019s desire to convert Tommy Freeman into a long-term Test outside centre, with Bristol\u2019s Benhard Janse van Rensburg also now in the frame. But neither has Slade\u2019s left-footed kicking prowess, his silky distribution at full tilt nor his experience. As Dave Walder, the Chiefs\u2019 attack coach, succinctly puts it: \u201cIf I was picking an England team, I\u2019d have Henry Slade in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The naysayers argue that Slade has not always dominated games during his 74 Tests, conveniently overlooking that England\u2019s tactics have seldom chimed with his strengths. At times he has resembled a classical violinist playing in a heavy metal band but, equally, he does not give up easily. \u201cYou can\u2019t control selection, all you can control is what you\u2019re doing. That\u2019s all you can do, I guess. Put my hand up as much as I can and hopefully that\u2019ll be enough to get a recall.\u201d<\/p>\n

It does no harm that Exeter have been purring again, with Len Ikitau as a straight-running midfield foil inside him. No side has ever won the title having finished third in the regular season but, assuming they still have enough left physically, Slade believes the Chiefs could yet overturn the odds. \u201cWe\u2019re playing some good stuff. The boys are playing well and that\u2019s given me opportunities to get the ball in good positions. Dave\u2019s also given us some really good clarity around what we\u2019re doing with our attack. He\u2019s got some good ideas and it feels like our attack is improving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitness-wise, too, Slade has invested much time and effort in ensuring he stays in peak condition. \u201cI do a lot of hot and cold contrasts \u2026 saunas, ice baths, stretching, mobility. It does help. I\u2019m 33 but I feel quicker, stronger and fitter than I\u2019ve ever felt. I guess that\u2019s credit to the boys in the strength and conditioning department but I\u2019ve also been big into my recovery over the past few years. It must be helping because I do feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exeter\u2019s Joseph Dweba shows his delight after they beat Saracens at Sandy Park. Photograph: Michael Steele\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Another interesting fact about Slade, incidentally, is that one of his younger brothers, Seb, is an actor who performed in Hamlet at the National Theatre last autumn and has only recently returned from touring the production in New York for two months. There is nil chance of his elder sibling treading the boards \u2013 \u201cI\u2019d be shite\u201d \u2013 but, as his multiple match-winning contributions this year have underlined, Slade is comfortable enough in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

And maybe the ability to rise to the big occasion is the area in which he and Exeter can unsettle a home side missing Finn Russell. \u201cWe do feel we can mix it in the big games,\u201d says Slade. \u201cWe know it\u2019s going to be incredibly tough but we\u2019ve beaten some really good teams this year. We\u2019ve got to go up there confident and back ourselves. I can\u2019t remember the last time I was so excited for a game of rugby as I was last week. And things are now getting more exciting, aren\u2019t they?\u201d This season\u2019s leading Prem points scorer may yet have another central role to play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is early afternoon in Exeter and Henry Slade is reflecting on his day so far. As a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-634918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}