- Slade excels in win over South Africa at Twickenham
- Eddie Jones: ‘He’s really cemented a spot at 13 now’
Eddie Jones spent Sunday morning holding one-on-one meetings with his players before sending them home with a spring in their step. He then met his coaches and, again, you would expect a bit of mutual backslapping, though it is unclear if this was deemed the right time to address the elephant in the room. Maybe best to leave it for another day, but it is unlikely to go away any time soon.
Because when Owen Farrell returns to fitness Jones must address the issue of how his captain gets back into this side. Recent evidence suggests that on merit Farrell has a job on his hands and that is in no small part down to the form of Henry Slade, who against South Africa stepped out of the absent captain’s shadow, rose to the occasion when Manu Tuilagi limped off and produced his finest display in an England jersey. It has long since been lamented that while he has often shown his abundant talent in flashes he rarely seizes matches by the scruff of the neck. But at Twickenham on Saturday, Slade’s performance with ball in hand was as courageous as it was classy.
