R360: Henry Slade admits new competition looks ‘exciting’ but maintains England aspirations after RFU warning | Rugby Union News

Henry Slade admits the new R360 competition “sounds exciting” but says he still has the “zeal” to realize his own ambitions for club and country.

On Tuesday, the governing associations of eight top-flight nations, including England, Ireland and Scotland, issued a joint statement warning that any player joining the Rebel squad would be ineligible for international selection.

R360 is a new franchise league headlined by 2003 World Cup winner Mike Tindall of England, consisting of 12 teams based in major cities around the world.

Slade, who made 73 Test caps for England, was one of the big names linked to the new competition.

“Well, no one has heard much about that,” he said. “But I think on the basis of that, it looks exciting for rugby.

“I think people are always trying to find ways to get more people into the sport and get more and more fans involved. I think this might be a way to do that.”

“I think, especially when you’re a younger player, you may not have had the opportunity to achieve what you want to achieve yet (so being ineligible for international selection could be a deterrent).

“But this fire never goes out even when you get older. I can’t speak for everyone, everyone is different, we’ll see. The ambition to play for your country will never leave you.

“Obviously a rugby player’s career is short, so you have to think about your family and your money,” the 32-year-old said.

“But playing for England, yeah, is unbelievable.”

The Exeter Chiefs center missed out on Lions selection over the summer but was part of England’s tour to Argentina where the Roses won both matches.

Slade hopes to return to the England shirt for the Autumn Championship, with the first match being against Australia at Twickenham on November 1.

“We have a lot of strength and depth,” Slade said. “Obviously with the Lions out in the summer, they’ve done well in Australia.

“But the rest of us that went to Argentina, I think we showed some real character to come out with wins there.”

“I think the team is in a really good position and I hope we can go further. There are a lot of good players all over the pitch but in the middle as well.

“There are a lot of options, so I just have to keep trucking, keep my hands up, keep working as hard as I can and who knows.”

Slade will also be keen to continue justifying his place in the team as he heads towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

The prospect of making his third World Cup team after missing out in 2023 is an added incentive for the midfielder, but he acknowledged that “there’s a lot of rugby to be played until then.”

Henry Slade was speaking to Sky Sports as part of the Tackling Diabetes campaign to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, tackle misunderstanding and stigma and highlight the importance of early detection.