The Uncapped Duo

With Stuart Lancaster’s England squad now fully assembled at Pennyhill Park and preparing
themselves physically and mentally for their clash with New Zealand, two players who have been drawing particular attention are the uncapped duo of George Kruis and Henry Slade.

Both players have been included on the back of blistering form in the Aviva Premiership, with Kruis
filling the considerable shoes of Steve Borthwick with aplomb in Saracens’ engine room, whilst
Slade has been pivotal in guiding Exeter Chiefs to their superb start to the season, even from the
unaccustomed position of outside centre. The pair have their work cut out to earn their first caps
this autumn, but both bring abilities and skill sets which can benefit England in the short and long-
term.

Although Alistair Hargreaves was the man chosen to take on Saracens’ captaincy following
Borthwick’s decision to hang up his boots, it’s been Kruis who has filled the significant void left at the
lineout. In addition to his prowess at the set-piece, where he has rapidly become Saracens’ go-to-
man, he has been extremely efficient in defence, averaging over 10 tackles a game in the six games
he has started for the North Londoners this season.

He faces the unenviable task of trying to dislodge Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury or Dave Attwood
from what has become a fairly well-entrenched top three for England, but the absence of lineout
guru Geoff Parling, who has suffered from multiple concussions recently, could be the ajar door he
needs to stake his claim in the 23.

Lawes is as good at stealing opposition lineout ball as there currently is in the game and whilst
Launchbury and Attwood are also very effective at the set-piece, none of the three fulfil the
aforementioned lineout guru role that the likes of Parling, Borthwick or Ben Kay have for England
in the past. If Kruis can impress Lancaster and the rest of England’s coaching staff over the next few
weeks, his potential to take control of the lineout could see him sneak into the 23 and from there,
put pressure on incumbents Lawes and Launchbury.

Slade, who has transitioned from fly-half to outside centre, has been surpassing all expectations
this season with his play. Perhaps the most naturally talented back England currently have at their
disposal, Slade has a knack for making the game look unbelievably easy, something which England’s
upcoming opponents, New Zealand, have specialised in over the years.

His slighter-than-usual build for a centre has not prevented him from chopping down powerful
midfield runners in the Premiership, but it’s with ball in hand that he has really made his presence
known so far this season. His distribution has been as fine as any centre’s in the league not named
Kyle Eastmond and he has shown a real eye for spotting gaps that he can exploit with explosive
acceleration and elusive running lines. The role he would provide as a second kicking option in the
England back line should also not be underestimated, something which the team has looked for and
failed to find since the days of Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Catt.

To followers of Slade’s career, these abilities come as no surprise, as he displayed them all in
abundance whilst guiding the England U20 side to their first-ever Junior World Championship win
in 2013. It was at fly-half that he excelled at that level and whilst most agree his long-term future
probably resides back in the 10 jersey, his current form at 13 gives Lancaster something he has not
had in his entire tenure – multiple viable midfield options.

From England’s recent established centre pairing of Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi, neither of whom
could be honestly described as ‘playmakers’, Lancaster can now field two genuine distributors in
Eastmond and Slade. It’s hard to see England going in this direction, as that midfield lacks balance,
but as mentioned before, the options it gives Lancaster are considerable, allowing him to play a
more bruising carrier at inside or outside centre, depending on form, opposition and injuries.

All of that said, New Zealand are not a team to experiment against. If England’s combinations are
at all disjointed, the All Blacks will punish them. As such, it seems unlikely that Kruis or Slade will
feature at Twickenham in England’s opening QBE International, but with Lancaster and Australian
head coach Michael Cheika perhaps unwilling to show all their cards ahead of meeting in next
year’s Rugby World Cup pool, both could feature in England’s last game of the autumn against the
Wallabies. The physically demanding clashes with Samoa and South Africa, which are sandwiched
between the tests against New Zealand and Australia, would also provide very telling assessments of
just how far along in their development both players are.

Regardless of whether or not Kruis and Slade feature this autumn, their inclusion in the squad is
certainly a positive step forward not only for themselves, but also for the England rugby team. Both
players being introduced into the England set-up is just another step in the right direction for their
highly-promising careers and Lancaster’s preparations for both the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World
Cups.