Edward Nicholas Slater (born 1 August 1988) is a former English rugby union player who played at lock. Following a diagnosis of

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

in July 2022, Slater retired from professional rugby.

Club career

Junior career

Born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Slater began his rugby career at Milton Keynes RUFC before moving to Australia. He established himself at

Eastern Suburbs RUFC The Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club is a team in the Intrust Super Shute Shield, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales. The club is based in Rose Bay in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and was founded ...

, Sydney, NSW. It was here that he began to really improve, starting in a successful U21s side and resulting in playing 1st grade rugby for 'The Beasties'. He also enjoyed a short stint with the

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state ...

, 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 future Tigers teammate

Tom Youngs Thomas Nicholas Youngs (born 28 January 1987) is a retired rugby union player who played as a hooker for Leicester Tigers and England. Between 2012–2015 he won 28 caps for , including selection for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and was select ...

. His performances in the Championship playoffs and for the Tigers' development side earned him a move to his hometown club,

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

in the summer of 2010.

Leicester Tigers

In 2009/10 Slater provided cover for long-term injuries to England international locks

Louis Deacon Louis Deacon (born 7 October 1980, in Leicester) is a former English professional rugby union footballer. He played lock. Career His playing career started as an eight-year-old, playing with Wigston, before joining Syston RFC and as a Ratc ...

and

Geoff Parling Geoff Parling (born 28 October 1983) is an English rugby union coach and former player. His usual playing position was lock. Parling played for Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs in Premiership Rugby, he won three English t ...

, whilst the retirements of

Ben Kay Benedict James Kay MBE (born 14 December 1975) is a retired English international rugby union footballer who played Second row forward for Leicester Tigers and . Background Kay was born in Liverpool, the only son of Lord Justice of Appeal Si ...

and

Richard Blaze Richard Blaze (born 19 April 1985 in Birmingham, England) is an English rugby union forwards coach and former player who played Lock for Leicester Tigers and Worcester Warriors. Due to his early retirement from the game, Blaze is widely known a ...

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 he helped Tigers top the leaderboard and make it to the Aviva Premiership final in the 2010-2011 season. A successful 2012/2013 campaign culminated in a Premiership winners medal for Slater, he was a used replacement in the final. Slater captained the Tigers in the 14/15 (although injured for the majority of the season, he returned to captain the side for the last 10 games) and 15/16 seasons.

Gloucester

On 7 August 2017, Slater left Leicester to sign for

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...

as part of a swap deal with

Jonny May Jonathan James May (born 1 April 1990) is a professional rugby union player for Gloucester in Premiership Rugby and for the national team. He plays as a winger and is known for his speed and try scoring. He began his senior career at Glouces ...

joining

from the 2017-18 season. On 21st July 2022, Slater confirmed he was diagnosed with

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

(motor neurone disease) and retired immediately.

International career

Slater was selected in the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

squad in 2012. He was selected in the senior England Squad in 2012/13, but unfortunately an injury sustained in the Aviva Premiership final ruled him out of the tour shortly after being selected. He was then selected for both the 2014 Six Nations and the summer tour to New Zealand, where he captained England against the Canterbury Crusaders in his first appearance for the senior England side. Slater was included in Stuart Lancaster's World Cup 51 man training squad. He also featured in Eddie Jones' plans at the beginning of 2016, but was injured again (knee).

Personal life and health

Slater announced that he had been diagnosed with

in July 2022. He retired from professional rugby with immediate effect.

References

External links

Leicester profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Edward 1988 births Living people English rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players Leicester Tigers players Nottingham R.F.C. players Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Leicester People with motor neuron disease