Ed Slater

Who is Ed Slater?

Edward Slater is an English rugby union player for Leicester Tigers.

Essentially a lock, his work-rate and physical presence have helped him earn rave reviews at second row at Leicester Tigers, resulting in call ups to both England Saxons and in 2013, the senior England squad to tour Argentina.

He began his rugby career at Milton Keynes Rugby Club before moving to Australia. He established himself at Eastern Suburbs RUFC, Sydney, NSW. It was here that he began to really improve, starting in a successful U21's side and resulting in playing 1st grade rugby for 'The Beasties'. He also enjoyed a short stint with the NSW Waratahs, where he was signed on a Junior contract. After a short trial with Leicester Tigers he joined Nottingham at the opening stages of the playoff campaign. Here he played alongside current teammate Tom Youngs. His performances in the Championship playoffs and for the Tigers' development side earned him a move to his hometown club, Leicester Tigers in the summer of 2010.

He provided excellent cover for long-term injuries to England international locks Louis Deacon and Geoff Parling whilst the retirements of Ben Kay and Richard Blaze allowed Slater to break through to the first team squad. Slater's consistent performances earned him Tigers' Player of the Month award in October 2010 and he went on to make over 30 appearances for the club in his first season. In the same season helped Tigers top the leaderboard and make it to the Aviva Premiership final in the 2010-2011 season. Since then, Slater has gone on to claim his first call up to the England Saxons squad.