Henry Slade had seen it all before but this time felt different. Very different. The podium being hastily built on halfway, the trophy placed on its stand, the confetti guns locked and loaded ready to shower the winners.
In Japan he stood and watched South Africa lift the World Cup feeling a pain he thought would last a lifetime. Eleven months on it was him drenched in bubbly, him wearing the medal.
Exeter didn’t trudge disconsolately past the European Champions Cup, they picked it up and took it home. “It’s been an unreal year,” said the England centre. “That World Cup final was an unbelievable experience but a massive disappointment. “I was thinking before this game that winning here would make me feel way better.
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