Colin Slade – Player Profile
Colin Slade is a rugby player with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) since 2008 and plays for teams like the Highlanders, Crusaders, All Blacks and Canterbury.
Slade was born in October 1987 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He completed high school at the Christchurch Boys' High School and then went on to study at the University of Canterbury majoring in history and mass communications at the Bachelor level. He has
experienced rugby at both the Under-19 and Under-21 levels.
He initiated his official rugby career by playing for the Canterbury union as a fly-half in the Air New Zealand (ANZ) Cup of 2008. He helped his team win his debut match by scoring more than 80 points in the tournament. Initially he was also chosen for the
All Blacks training camp before he joined up with Canterbury.
His performance in the provincial ANZ tournament in 2008 earned him a spot with the NZRU’s Crusaders for the Super Rugby 2009. Slade played at the position of wing for the team and this did not earn him many accolades, as he played an average game at the
new spot on the field. However, he was chosen to appear in the semi-final against the Bulls at a substitute position. During the same year Slade was selected to also appear in the International Rugby Board (IRB)’s Pacific Nations Cup under the umbrella of
the Junior All Blacks, earning a total of 33 points and a part in the squad for the Tri-Nations 2009.
Slade was selected to play at the position of fullback in the 2009 ANZ Cup. This change of position helped him play at top speed in almost 14 games of the tournament, leading the Canterbury team to victory. This earned him a spot in the provincial ITM Cup
of 2010. The Canterbury team once again put him at the position of fly-half and he once again surfaced as an excellent player, helping Canterbury win again.
The ANZ 2009 season helped Slade attain the position of fullback once again in Super 14, where he gave an excellent performance against the Lions and the Stormers. He was also called to play for the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations 2010 final as a replacement
for the injured player and fly-half, Dan Carter.
After an excellent 2010 season, the player decided to shift his loyalties towards the Highlanders. This decision was based on the position he wanted to play. He thus joined the Highlanders in the 2011 Super Rugby as a fly-back. The season however had its
downfall for the player. He did not get to play his five scheduled matches in the Super Rugby after experiencing his first injury, leaving him out of commission. He was ruled out of the tournament all together when he sustained an injury again after playing
two more winning games with the Highlanders.
The player, capped 39 times in the provincial games and 26 times in the Super Rugby, has been a consistently good player since his debut into the NZRU in 2008. He favours playing at the fly-back position, but plays equally well at the fullback position.
His abilities as both a fullback and a fly-half have earned him a position on the All Blacks 30 man squad as of the announcement made by the coach Graham Henry. Colin Slade will play with the All Blacks at the fly-half position for the Tri-Nations 2011 starting
on July 23. The player looks forward to be included in the announcement on August 22 about the All Blacks squad for the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2011.
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