ASHTON IS POOR DECISION-MAKER - PROBYN
Former England prop Jeff Probyn believes that if Brian Ashton’s team are to move forward then 20-year-old No10 Danny Cipriani should be given a starting berth ahead of World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson.
The 51-year-old believes that Wasps’ talented youngster should be afforded a first team shirt against Scotland on Saturday, and not handed a throw-away 20 minutes at the end of a match.
And Probyn, who won 37 caps for his country and appeared in the 1991 World Cup Final, thinks that the fly-half dilemma is just one of the decisions that head coach Ashton has got wrong so far in this year’s Six Nations.
He said: “England did well to beat France but the reality is they have not moved on from the World Cup.
“If we have not advanced then what is the point of having Ashton and his so-called adventurous play?
“Ashton should start Danny now. Just compare the way (French coach) Marc Lièvremont has worked with (21-year-old fly-half) François Trinh-Duc.
“What Lièvremont has done has said: ‘he’s the new boy, he is the kid we want to find out whether he can do it or he can’t’. He knows that he has got David Skrela in the background so if Trinh-Duc can’t do it, he can replace him.
“Ashton, on the other hand, picks Wilkinson and leaves Cipriani on the bench meaning that he only gets 20 minutes when England are going through a small hiatus in terms of their performance.
“That is ludicrous because Danny has to prove that he is worth his England place in the space of 20 minutes just when the team is falling apart.
“If you do want to change the structure for a youngster you should start with the new player and have the experienced one on the bench. And Ashton just hasn’t done that.”
Probyn added: “A number of his tactical decisions have been appallingly bad. For example, when he substituted off captain Phil Vickery – the one person who seemed to have authority – just as Wales were coming back into the game.
“Also Ashton’s midfield is lacklustre to say the least. I would like to see Mathew Tait at full-back as he offers more attacking options.”
Former England prop Jeff Probyn believes that if Brian Ashton’s team are to move forward then 20-year-old No10 Danny Cipriani should be given a starting berth ahead of World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson.
The 51-year-old believes that Wasps’ talented youngster should be afforded a first team shirt against Scotland on Saturday, and not handed a throw-away 20 minutes at the end of a match.
And Probyn, who won 37 caps for his country and appeared in the 1991 World Cup Final, thinks that the fly-half dilemma is just one of the decisions that head coach Ashton has got wrong so far in this year’s Six Nations.
He said: “England did well to beat France but the reality is they have not moved on from the World Cup.
“If we have not advanced then what is the point of having Ashton and his so-called adventurous play?
“Ashton should start Danny now. Just compare the way (French coach) Marc Lièvremont has worked with (21-year-old fly-half) François Trinh-Duc.
“What Lièvremont has done has said: ‘he’s the new boy, he is the kid we want to find out whether he can do it or he can’t’. He knows that he has got David Skrela in the background so if Trinh-Duc can’t do it, he can replace him.
“Ashton, on the other hand, picks Wilkinson and leaves Cipriani on the bench meaning that he only gets 20 minutes when England are going through a small hiatus in terms of their performance.
“That is ludicrous because Danny has to prove that he is worth his England place in the space of 20 minutes just when the team is falling apart.
“If you do want to change the structure for a youngster you should start with the new player and have the experienced one on the bench. And Ashton just hasn’t done that.”
Probyn added: “A number of his tactical decisions have been appallingly bad. For example, when he substituted off captain Phil Vickery – the one person who seemed to have authority – just as Wales were coming back into the game.
“Also Ashton’s midfield is lacklustre to say the least. I would like to see Mathew Tait at full-back as he offers more attacking options.”
Labels: Brian Ashton, Daniel Cipriani, Jeff Probyn, Six Nations, Wasps
