Henry Slade helped Exeter Chiefs secure a first Premiership win of the season – snapping a historic losing run – and claimed the victory at Sandy Park was “better than sex”
Henry Slade helped Exeter Chiefs secure a first Premiership win of the season – snapping a historic losing run – and claimed the victory at Sandy Park was “better than sex” Henry Slade helped Exeter Chiefs secure a first Premiership win of the season – snapping a historic losing run – and claimed the victory at Sandy Park was “better than sex”
England star Henry Slade joked that Exeter Chiefs’ first win of the season was “better than sex”.
Slade, who has stepped in to play fly-half in an effort to end Exeter’s horrendous run, kicked seven points as the Devon outfit secured a first Premiership win in more than seven months to round out the calendar year as they saw off Gloucester 22-15.
Prior to that the former champions had gone eight games without a win – and that run extended further if you go back to last season. They were eventually able to land the success they so craved with their England international crucial and he spoke candidly after the contest.
In the moments after full-time, where his reaction was captured on camera, he was asked on TNT Sports to sum up his emotions and replied: “Better than sex – don’t tell my wife that. It’s awesome, it feels really good. There’s been a lot of heartbreak.”
Slade has claimed two Premiership winner’s medals across his six finals whilst at Sandy Park and also boasts a European success on his CV. Exeter were in the hunt to make the top four going into the final day last season but have endured contrasting emotions this year.
“Its a weird one really, didn’t think at the start of the season we’d be waiting this long to get our first win, maybe that’s where we went wrong,” said Slade. “Awesome to see a sellout crowd, get the win, boys were on fire. To get the first win is huge, real pressure on the lads, a young team.”
The win means that Exeter jump off the bottom of the table with Newcastle replacing them at the foot of the Premiership. Director of Rugby Rob Baxter has presided over huge success but confessed that he’s endured some difficult moments as he watched his side rack up loss after loss.
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Image:
TNT Sports)
“I have felt the pressure because I want the team to win. Tony and the board have been very supportive. I’ve never had a conversation of ‘win next week and it’s all over’. But, at the same time, they have expected us to turn it around. We were the better team today. The boys have worked so hard.”
Another man who spoke candidly over the weekend was Sale’s Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson. His side dominated an in-form Bristol team and secured a 38-0 win on the road, helping them go into the top four. Just weeks ago they were all but ruled out by a supercomputer – which gave them a nine percent chance of post-season involvement – and Sanderson hasn’t let it go.
He said: “When the super-computer gave us all those chances of making the play-offs. Nine per cent we got, and we have used that to fuel us. I am still peed off about it. I don’t understand why we are not rated. We have been in semi-finals year in, year out barring one year in the last four years, and the final. Maybe it is because we are not the most flashy or the most fashionable.”
Mirror – Sport
