Henry Slade declared his ambition to end his career as a one-club man, raising the likelihood he will be the next England international to shun rugby’s rebel league.
The experienced centre has played his entire professional career with Exeter and hopes to re-sign with the Chiefs.
Slade’s Sandy Park contract expires at the end of the season.
Given his former agent, Leigh Hinton, is heading up the recruitment for R360, Slade has been seen as a player of interest to the breakaway competition.
But the 32-year-old said it would be ‘awesome’ to stay a Chief – the team with whom he made his professional debut in 2013.
He added: ‘I love playing here. My family is from here. I am raising my kids here. You never say never with things when your contract comes up. But I am happy here.’
Henry Slade has said he would like to stay for the rest of his club career with Exeter Chiefs
Slade has always been a one-club man to date, coming through the ranks at Sandy Park
This week, the RFU and other major unions confirmed that any players who sign for R360 – which is slated to start in 2026 – will be banned from Test rugby.
Slade described R360 as an ‘exciting prospect’.
He was a surprising omission from his country’s 2023 World Cup squad but reaffirmed his commitment to representing England.
England No 10’s George Ford and Fin Smith have both snubbed R360 interest to stay at their Prem Rugby employers Sale and Northampton respectively.
‘The lure of playing for England is a massive thing that is going to keep me and probably a lot of players in the league,’ Slade said.
‘You get to play at Twickenham in front of 82,000 people. Money can’t buy that.
Slade remains a key figure for England after missing out on selection for the 2023 World Cup
‘Playing at World Cups is a massive draw. It is a big part of staying around.’
Slade said he expected to begin contract talks with Exeter ‘fairly soon’ and hopes to add to his 73 England caps this autumn.
Being one of 25 players to be handed an enhanced elite player squad contract by national head coach Steve Borthwick at the start of the campaign shows he is still a key player at international level.
