History will be kind to me because I intend to write it

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.”

Labels: Brian Ashton, Daniel Cipriani, Jeff Probyn, Six Nations, Wasps

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 5:47 pm | Permalink | Comments

KING BACKS ENGLAND FOR VICTORY IN PARIS

Alex King is backing England to prove all the doubters wrong against France on Saturday at the Stade de France. The former Wasps fly-half, who made three appearances for England, believes Brian Ashton's team will reproduce their World Cup semi-final heroics when they defeated Les Bleus 14-9 at the same venue.

King, who plays for Clermont Auvergne in France, said: "Everyone is writing England off for the Six Nations now - they are huge underdogs this weekend.

"France have had all the praise from the media and anyone in the rugby world, as they have rediscovered their attacking flair.

"But in their last 30 minutes against Ireland they were pretty dire. If the game had been five or ten minutes longer, they would have lost the game.

"England can take heart from that and the fact that France are not the complete package yet. They have nothing to lose. It's a similar situation to the World Cup semi-final - no one expected them to win, and that will give them more freedom to play.

"They have 80 minutes to salvage their Six Nations. If England win this they could go on to win the championship, and what a turn around that would be.

"These boys love nothing better than being underdogs and proving everyone wrong."

While London Irish back Shane Geraghty has been ruled out of the France game through knee trouble, King is delighted that his old team-mate and flanker Joe Worsley should feature after a long injury lay-off.

"I'm really pleased for Joe," he added. "It's great to see him back in action and against Bath at the weekend he played really well. He brings a dynamic edge to the back row."

Labels: Alex King, Brian Ashton, England, France, rugby union, Six Nations

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:38 pm | Permalink | Comments

ASHTON SHOULD BACK CIPRIANI - KING

England international fly-half Alex King has urged Brian Ashton not to be afraid to use Wasps' young No10 Daniel Cipriani. The talented 20-year-old will only flourish from more playing time, thinks King, who had held the Wasps No10 shirt for a decade before he moved to ASM Clermont Auvergne last summer.

King, 33, gained three international caps, and would have won more had it not been for the emergence of incumbent fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.

Now his former team-mate, Cipriani, is jostling for Wilkinson's shirt, and though that is a formidable task, King believes that he would benefit from more minutes on the pitch for England.

"I would like to see Danny get more game time for England," said King.

"Ten minutes at the end of a game when his team are struggling is not great for anyone.

"He only touched the ball three times against Italy - once he was charged down; once he dropped it; and the other time he put a great kick into the corner.

"He has bounced back - he played brilliantly against Bath at the weekend and really directed Wasps to victory.

"He has put behind him what happened in Italy and the more game time he gets, the better because the more times he touches the ball the more times things happen.

"And he will learn from have more time on the pitch. Brian Ashton has got to back him for more than 10 minutes in Italy when the team is not functioning very well."

Labels: Alex King, Brian Ashton, Daniel Cipriani, England, rugby union, Six Nations

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:33 pm | Permalink | Comments

ENGLAND MUST GO ON OFFENSIVE AGAINST FRANCE - CATT

England World Cup hero Mike Catt believes that Brian Ashton's side must go into all-out-attack mode against France in the Six Nations showdown in Paris on Saturday evening. The utility back, who, after amassing 75 caps for his country, retired after helping Brian Ashton's team to the World Cup final in October.

The 36-year-old London Irish player said: "There's only one way this game can go, England have to win. They need to win the match. England have been playing within themselves and now it's time to pull out all the stops.

"The coaches have been coaching within themselves too and for sheer need of confidence they need to make sure they get a result.

"England need to go out there and make sure they take the game by the scruff of the neck.

"At the start of the Six Nations we were hoping that we could continue the success we achieved at the World Cup but unfortunately that hasn't happened.

"According to everyone's mindset, England haven't really performed and played within themselves. I think this weekend against France is massive.

"It's a huge stepping stone to what a future England team can achieve over the next three or four games."

Labels: Brian Ashton, England, rugby union, Six Nations

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:32 pm | Permalink | Comments

VAINIKOLO CAN BE UNION GREAT - PAUL

Lesley Vainikolo will be one of the best rugby union finishers of all time, according to his former team-mate and dual international Henry Paul.

The Harlequins RL star, 33, played with Gloucester winger Vainikolo for New Zealand's league team and at Bradford Bulls.

Paul crossed codes himself in 2001, earning six caps for England. And he thinks that the 28-year-old 6"1' flyer who could make his union international bow next Saturday when England play host to Wales, can be one of the game's greats.

He said: "I think Lesley is the best finisher in the game. His strike rate is outstanding. If you look at his record - 140 tries in 144 games for the Bulls. It is unbelievable.

"Les will take some stopping. He's going to create opportunities for other guys with his power and the attention he gets. Already he is being marked by three or four guys.

"He is just a monster and bulldozes people. There is no magic formula with Les - he trains well, and trains smart. He is a big, natural player who works to his strengths."

Paul continued: "He has to be one of the best wingers ever in rugby league.

"He has dominated games in Australia too, so he has proved himself in two of the hardest leagues and on two different continents.

"He will be up there in rugby union too. It's just a shame that he has come into it a bit late.

"But I think we'll be able to talk about what a great player he is in union five years from now."

Labels: Brian Ashton, England, Lesley Vainikolo, rugby union, Six Nations

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 5:22 pm | Permalink | Comments

ASHTON: GIVE ME THE ENGLAND JOB FOR 2011

England's jubilant coach Brian Ashton, touched back down to England with one message for Rob Andrew, head of the RFU – hand me the reins for the England team and let me take them to world cup glory at New Zealand 2011.

The former Bath coach, who replaced Andy Robinson only ten months ago, inherited a team who had lost eight out of their last nine games. Against all odds, and with hardly any preparation Ashton managed to take England to the world cup final.

Yet even this fantastic achievement has not ensured he will keep his job for longer than the originally agreed period of a year – his contract is due to terminate in December.

However Ashton believes that with the correct preparation and with his superb knowledge of England’s youngsters coming through, the national side can go one better than second place in four years time.

Andrew, head of the RFU, has remained diplomatic about the subject of renewing Ashton’s contract. Ashton, by contrast, wants to shout the fact that he wants to keep his job from the rooftops.

“I love this job,” he beamed. “It’s a difficult job, but it is also one of the most rewarding jobs I think in British sport, probably in world sport as well. I thoroughly enjoy coaching England.”

He believes that the work he did at the National Academy from 2002-2005 will help his case. Ashton helped to launch the Academy and has been able to keep a keen eye on up-and-coming young players as a result. His knowledge of their skills will mean that he can get the most out of their talents.

Youngsters Danny Hipkiss, Matt Stephens, Mathew (sic) Tait and Toby Flood all gained important experience by playing for England in the world cup final, and there are scores of more plying their trade in the Guinness Premiership.

“There are a load of young players coming through the game and that I know exceptionally well from my time as National Academy manager,” Ashton continued. “To be given an opportunity to work with them again would be fantastic.

“Potentially they are some of the best rugby players England have ever had. These players need managing the right way, and hopefully some of them will get the opportunity to play another 40 international games for England before they hit another world cup tournament.

“That obviously will make a massive difference in terms of experience that they will have to bring in 2011. They will be the senior players as opposed to being the junior players as they are now.”

The Lancashire-born coach admits that the preparation for this last world cup was far from perfect, and that it is import for the RFU to have a period to reflect on where things may we improved for next time.

“I took over England nine months ago – a team that had lost eight out of their last nine games,” he mused. “A lot of players who played in the world cup weren’t available in the Six Nations for me, so we effectively started out campaign four months ago. We got to the final, and were very, very close at some stages to winning that final.

“We need to go through a review process – not from when I took over but a review of what has happened since 2003, just to make absolutely certain that we give ourselves the best opportunity to prepare over four years for that 2011 tournament.

“We have to make sure that we don’t go into the 2011 tournament in January 2011 with the same sort of situation that faced me when I took over here.”

Labels: Andy Robinson, Brian Ashton, RFU, Rob Andrew, Rugby Football Union, rugby union, Rugby World Cup

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 8:29 pm | Permalink | Comments

How can England retain the World Cup on the back of such a poor tour?

As England prepare to defend their World Cup trophy, once again domestic and commercial commitments look to compromise international success.

A sub-standard and lethargic England team had the stuffing knocked out of them at altitude in the heartland of South African rugby - Bloemfontein - on Saturday. By half-time the score was 30-3 in the Springboks’ favour, and the game was effectively over; the final score - 58-10 - was a record win for the Boks against England. At the beginning of their international season, the win will be a fillip to South African confidence. The battered, weary England squad will trudge on to Pretoria this weekend for another mauling.

What is most worrying for Brian Ashton is that his team will play Jake White’s team in Pool A in the World Cup on 14th September - only three and a half months away. Ashton’s squad, robbed of many stars thanks to club commitments, a long winter programme, and weakened further by a 72-hour lurgy, had their preparations for this first Test seriously disrupted, and started - quite rightly - as underdogs.

In truth they were never expecting to win with such a rag-tag touring squad, coined “plumbers and decorators and part-time rugby players” by the South African press and “Dad’s army” by the English papers. That England can only field a second string team, which comprises largely of older (some uncapped) Premiership veterans and young, unblooded talent, brings into question the decision of the timing of the tour: why would England want to hand South Africa such a huge psychological advantage ahead of their showdown in St Denis? What can they possibly hope to learn?

Already this tour is looking every bit as woeful as the 1998 “Tour of Hell” to Australia. The 76-0 defeat in Brisbane is a record defeat for the Red rose; second on the list is this latest result. That the Aussies went on the win the World Cup in 1999 and the South Africans have been going through a sticky patch themselves suggests that Saturday’s score line even flattered England; especially when one considers that the Boks - normally relentless punishers - came out from the interval laughing and joshing and did not manage to score in the first 30 minutes of the second half.

The previous weekend, while Wasps edged out Leicester in a bruising all-English European Cup final, the Northern Bulls beat the Coastal Sharks in an all-South African affair in the Super 14 final, thanks to a Bryan Habana injury-time try. Habana touched down twice against England. Whereas Wasps and Leicester’s Englishmen didn’t board the plane to Johannesburg, the South Africans were able to field their strongest team; 10 men who played in the Super 14 final started for the Boks.

Before kick-off Ashton told reporters he was looking for physicality and intelligence from his team: “We’re not looking for excuses. We have to match them upfront.” Up front 34-year-old Kevin Yates (last capped 10 years ago), 35-year-olds Mark Regan and Stephen Turner (who made his first start and was replaced by 34-year old debutant Darren Crompton after 53 minutes) did as well as could be expected, but it was only a matter of time before the Boks turned the screw.

Basic errors allowed the Boks in, but far from the intelligence that Ashton had hoped for, some of the England players showed a lack of basic competence, and in many ways looked like they didn‘t want to be there; who would blame them? Yes, they were playing together for the first time as a team, and yes, there is a mixture of talent throughout the squad, but there was a risible paucity of cohesion. Ian Balshaw’s speculative drop-goal attempt after only 12 minutes - which, from 40 metres out, sliced embarrassingly into South Africa’s 22 - hinted not only at a lack of English invention but also a desperation.

Against such strong opposition, blooding young players and handing caps to veterans in the dusk of their careers is not conducive to giving anyone but the South Africans a confidence boost. As the Boks prepare with purpose for the World Cup in France, England will be left decimated, needing a from-the-roots-up rebuilding job. Compared to Clive Woodward’s meticulous ripening of the last World Cup squad, where England entered the tournament as favourites after a Six Nations Grand Slam, and June international wins against New Zealand and Australia, Brian Ashton’s team look years away from the finished product.

The ludicrous schedule of tours to the southern hemisphere has been questioned by many, and the International Rugby Board has now admitted that the timing of these tours is far from ideal. Too late this time round - the IRB have decreed a repeat would not happen in future - but that is scant consolation for English rugby.

In the bigger picture this age of sporting professionalism, where the lines between sport and business are blurring further every day, there is pressure to commit to more games - both internationally and domestically - to sate the unquenchable thirst of sport’s audience; and it is harming many countries, not least England. And it’s not just in rugby union.

It is no consequence that in the last year England’s most popular three sports - football, rugby and cricket - there have been personnel changes at the very top. With such crammed domestic season, salt-and-peppered with ill-timed international commitments, how can English teams be expected to win? Sven-Goran Eriksson resigned as England’s football coach after the World Cup in Germany, complaining that his squad were over-tired after a gruelling domestic season - the same excuse used by Chelsea and Manchester United after their pitiful FA Cup final showing this term; a game which should have been a special occasion enhanced by sparkling football, but New Wembley’s first final was clamorous.

Similarly Duncan Fletcher stepped down at the conclusion of April’s long and tragic cricket World Cup, and again the excuse for failure was that his players had not been afforded enough of a break.

Though the doughty Brian Ashton will never look for excuses, he can be pardoned in part for England’s ill-preparation ahead of September’s World Cup. Just don’t be surprised when England stumble and fall, and Ashton resigns citing that his players were tired and the schedule of England’s international season has been woefully flawed.

Labels: Brian Ashton, England, media, rugby, Rugby World Cup, South Africa, sports media

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:21 am | Permalink | Comments