Henry Slade believes Exeter's success has been spurred on by their previous disappointments
England star Henry Slade believes the pain of previous disappointments helped elevate Exeter to the summit of European rugby.
The Chiefs conquered Europe following a pulsating 31-27 Heineken Champions Cup final victory over Racing 92 at Ashton Gate.
It came after three losing Premiership final appearances, while Exeter centre Slade also featured in last year’s World Cup final when England were beaten by South Africa.
“It has been an unreal year,” Slade said.
“The World Cup final was an unbelievable experience to be there, but a massive disappointment. I had been thinking that winning this (Champions Cup) would make me feel way better.
“This is obviously the next best thing, and winning it is unbelievable.
“I remember back to being a kid and a teenager watching this tournament and wanting to be in it one day. To have the chance to go and win it is such a special feeling.”
Exeter will return to Twickenham next Saturday for a Premiership final appointment with Wasps, three years after their last title showdown required extra-time before Chiefs prevailed 23-20.
But the pain of three defeats to Saracens on English club rugby’s showpiece occasion is also firmly in Exeter’s memory bank as they target a domestic and European double.
“We’ve been through the mill a bit,” Slade added.
“We’ve had our success in finals, and we’ve also had a fair bit of disappointment as well. As a squad, we are definitely using those learnings really well.
“We are at a really good age across the squad. We’ve all been in those experiences, and we’ve all learnt from them.
“It has put us in a really good position, and we feel confident whenever we take the field. Hopefully, we can push on from here.”
Exeter’s resilience and unbreakable spirit surfaced during a frenzied finale against Racing.
Chiefs prop Tomas Francis was yellow-carded nine minutes from time and Racing threw everything at their opponents, going through attacking phase after phase barely five metres from Exeter’s line, but a 14-man defensive wall stood firm.
“The message the whole game was, ‘just make sure we stay in it, stay in it’. The way we dug in and defended our line in the last bit was unbelievable,” Slade added.
“I am so proud of everyone who took the field, and all the coaching staff and everyone who has put in the work to put us in this position.
“It is such a good feeling. We’ve had so much disappointment in finals in the last few years, and to do this now is unbelievable.”
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I still see nothing in Sotutus play that hes changed his upright running style that failed so many times against decent international defences like the french. Other than that… Iose? Well you have covered his limitations well. If Sititi had been playing the the season… Jacobson? Grace?…Neither shout pick me. So Ardie it is.
Go to commentsThere isn’t one element you mentioned there that every top class or successful team gets up to. The great All blacks sides used to play on the ‘fringes or edge’ but it was essentially saying they were doing something illegal or borderline to gain dominance. The fine margins at the top are minute between the top sides. La Rochelle, the crusaders, Saracens, Toulon etc etc…..have all been accused. Get over it, the comment comes across as salty and naive. Northampton as well as they played to get back into the match were thoroughly beaten and controlled for 60 minutes and Leinster have only themselves to blame for kicking it away and hence losing control of the match and being nearly the architects of their own downfall.
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