Slater Glad To Be Back Among The Heavy Mob

ED SLATER insists he left Leicester on his own terms after agreeing to be part of the controversial swap deal that saw Gloucester wing Jonny May head to Welford Road.

- Neal Harvey

Slater reveals he could have dug-in at Tigers and seen out the final year of his contrac. However, the opportunity to play regular rugby and be a leading figure in Johan Ackermann’s Kingsholm revolution persuaded the respected lock to head south.

Slater, 29, insist he has no regrets, telling The Rugby Paper: “I saw a few Leicester lads last week and they said how strange it was to see me in red and white, but the circumstances are what they are and I’m just glad to be at a club where I can play and contribute.

“I didn’t see the move coming and I had a year left, so my first reaction was I wanted to stay at Leicester. But it quickly became evident that Gloucester were really keen to get me here and give me an environment where I could try and use my experience.

“I didn’t have any gripes with Leicester, they got the player they wanted in Jonny May and I haven’t got the raw end of the deal by any stretch; I’m actually pretty happy with the direction Gloucester are going and the impact Johan Ackermann is making here.”

Slater added: “When I was weighing everything up, I could have stayed at Leicester if I’d desperately wanted to, but that would have been just cutting off my nose to spite my face.

“The first things I looked at here at Gloucester were the history of the club, tradition, support and stadium – and they’re all very similar to Leicester and tick the boxes.