Slade delighted with derby day win

By Mark Stevens
25/12/22

Henry Slade believes Exeter Chiefs are on an ‘upward curve’ as they extended their winning streak to five games with a hard-fought victory over Bath Rugby in the Gallagher Premiership.

Having picked up two wins in the Premiership Rugby Cup, then a similar outcome from their Heineken Champions Cup campaign, it was all smiles at Sandy Park on Saturday night as the Chiefs returned to winning ways in the Premiership.

Slade, along with Dave Ewers, crossed for Exeter’s two tries on the day, while ten points from the boot of Joe Simmonds wrapped up the victory in this all-West country affair.

“It’s always great to get a win in the Premiership, so anyone that you get, you’ll take,” said the England international. “We weren’t perfect today, Bath played well and they really pressured us, especially in that second half. We found it tough to get out of our half at times, but we’re delighted to come away with the win and we can enjoy Christmas a bit more now!”

Having led 20-10 at the break, the Chiefs had to cope not only with the threat of Bath, but also a strong wind and a spot of rain during a backs-to-the-wall second half.

“It was a strong wind, it was wet, so it was tough to get out of our half,” explained Slade. “That said, we dug in well because Bath really came at us with everything. To defend like we did was awesome. There was a lot of pressure coming on us, so to get the result was very pleasing.”

Next up for the Chiefs is this Saturday’s trip to league leaders Saracens, who themselves were undone at London Irish in Round 13. That was their first defeat in the league this season and Slade is expecting a backlash of sorts from the Londoners.

“Sarries away is always very tough and it’ll no different next weekend,” he said. “Right now, we’ve got a bit of momentum behind us and we’re getting some good results. There’s a confidence within the group and it’s getting better all the time. You can definitely see we’re on an upward curve, so hopefully we can keep it going.”