Rob Baxter has shed some light on Henry Slade 's Covid-19 vaccination status—and it's news many England fans will welcome ahead of their Six Nations campaign.
That's after Exeter Chiefs ' director of rugby hinted his squad won't have any medical exemptions or " Novak Djokovic business going on" when they travel to Montpellier this weekend.
The Premiership outfit will take on their Top 14 counterparts in this season's European Champions Cup on Sunday, but there were concerns Slade may be prevented from travelling.
That's because the 28-year-old—who developed Type 1 diabetes at the age of 18—has been among the most vocal British players with an opposition to the vaccine.
The playmaker has raised concerns in the past and said last year that he had "encountered issues in the past with the use of vaccines," leading many to believe he would reject the jab.
That became a potential pothole for England and Exeter fans hoping to see Slade play in countries like France or Italy, to which athletes are prevented from travelling unless they're fully vaccinated.
It's a particularly precarious proposition for Red Rose chief Eddie Jones, who appeared to face the prospect of losing one of his biggest creative weapons for the climactic Six Nations showdown in Paris (March 19).
But Baxter appears to have alleviated any such fears after ensuring Slade will be free to face Montpellier on Sunday, inferring he's received the vaccine since flagging suspicions in May 2021.
“Put it this way, if you don’t see him picked it won’t be because he is injured unless he gets injured today [Wednesday] in training," said the Exeter director of rugby. "Surmise of it what you want. The truth is – and I know Henry doesn’t mind me saying this – despite what everybody said and what everyone tried to report, Henry never said that he wasn’t going to get vaccinated.
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“He said at the time he wanted to see what the situation was and that was months and months and months ago.
"That is all I am prepared to say because that is what Henry said was fine to say. He never said he wasn’t going to have it, he said he wanted to see what the situation was. Everybody else seems to have surmised what they want from that.
“It is not for me to discuss every player’s individual medical status but you guys will see the team when we go over there and we have got no players with medical exemptions or anything like that, so there is no Novak Djokovic business going on anywhere."
Unvaccinated tennis titan Djokovic was recently at the heart of his own controversy after attempting to enter Melbourne and defend his Australian Open crown, only to be have his visa revoked despite multiple appeals.
Djokovic, 34, alleged he was under the impression he'd been cleared as medically exempt for the tournament, only to be turned around as he did not meet the federal government's criteria.
He's now in danger of being banned from Wimbledon, the French Open and U.S. Open unless he receives the jab.
Under their own Covid pass system, France would be within their rights to refuse entry to any unvaccinated players travelling during the Six Nations, or for club players participating in European tournaments.
“That is all I can say," Baxter continued. "It’s not for me to go through my team one at a time and tell you who is vaccinated and who is not.
"It’s just like every other Premiership side: we are pro-vaccine, we have encouraged it with our players and the majority of our players, the large, large, large majority of our players, are [vaccinated] and we haven’t got an issue going to France based on vaccinations.
"I’ll be honest with you, it has no effect on us.”
Slade's participation during the Six Nations is of particularly grave importance after he dazzled throughout the recent autumn series, during which Jones' side won three games from three.
The Exeter talisman was needed considering midfield partners like Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi were injured during wins over Australia and South Africa, respectively, with the latter still sidelined.
It seems inevitable Farrell will be included among England's back-line blueprint despite the fact he hasn't played since November, with many fans calling for change among the centres.
Slade is one constant plenty of supporters would like to see retain their place, however, as England prepare to open their Six Nations with a Calcutta Cup clash away to Scotland on February 5.
