Exeter Chiefs chief, Rob Baxter, has conceded that the fate of key player Henry Slade hangs in the balance, with the center equally likely to depart as to stay.
At 30 years old and in the final year of his contract, Slade, who missed out on a spot in the last year’s World Cup, has been showcasing outstanding form this season.
His stellar performances have played a pivotal role in Exeter’s current second-place standing in the league and their commendable victories in European competitions.
“That will probably help him make his decision around what he wants to do,” Baxter said on an England recall.
“We want to keep him, he knows we want him to stay, so we’re in that little bit of a limbo process at the moment where I think Henry just wants all the information on the table as to what’s happening with England.
“Then he can sit down with an open mind and assess all his options – I think that’s where we are with him.”
Baxter added: “Henry may well decide to stay at Exeter even if he’s not in the England team.
“I don’t think there’s any forgone conclusions here anywhere, and there won’t be any forgone conclusions for any players.
“Every player’s going to weigh up all their options, aren’t they? Length of contract, the amount of money there is involved, the cost of moving, whether they want a new challenge.
“Some of our players last season left just because they’d been at Exeter their whole careers and they wanted to try something different.
“The financial stuff played in there as well but they wanted something different, new experiences, and you can’t blame them for that either.”
Get your tickets to the 2024 Six Nations matches at viagogo, the world’s leading ticket marketplace
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.
50 Greatest British Rugby Players:
#50. Mike Tindall (England)
#49. Scott Quinnell (Wales)
#48. Matt Dawson (England)
#47. Will Carling (England)
#46. Scott Hastings (Scotland)
#45. Jonny May (England)
#44. Finlay Calder (Scotland)
#43. Maro Itoje (England)
#42. Rob Howley (Wales)
#41. Adam Jones (Wales)
#40. Peter Winterbottom (England)