England centre Henry Slade is keen to move on from the heartache of losing the World Cup final against South Africa. The Exeter Chiefs star came on as a replacement during the second half of England’s 32-12 defeat to the Springboks in Yokohama and just eight days after that loss he was back in action for his club in the Gallagher Premiership. It was a frustrating tournament for Slade, who missed England’s warm-up matches due to a knee injury, which he then aggravated during the pool stage victory over Tonga. Ford had been expected to be a regular starter for Eddie Jones’ team in Japan, but the form of George Ford and Owen Farrell meant his only start came in the quarter-final victory over Australia. The 26-year-old admits both his and England’s World Cup could have gone a lot differently, but he is now keen to move on from the tournament and focus on club rugby with Exeter. “It may or may not have been different for me, but things happen and you’ve just got to get on with it,” Ford was quoted as saying by the BBC. “Everyone was disappointed and upset about losing the final, as you would be, but I think if we’re to take a step back and think about the bigger picture of things, that was a positive period for English rugby.” Ford is likely to be in action for Exeter on Saturday when the Chiefs get their European Champions Cup campaign underway against Top 14 outfit La Rochelle.
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