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A 2018 Barbarians appearance helped convince Worcester to sign Chris Ashton, but he won't debut this weekend
Worcester boss Jonathan Thomas has revealed that the good impression made by Chris Ashton while they worked together with the Barbarians in 2018 was a factor in Warriors signing the veteran England winger this week on an 18-month deal.
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Ashton had struggled to settle at Harlequins since his switch last March but Worcester have now provided him with the platform to go and chase down the five tries he needs to become the Premiership’s all-time record try scorer. He won’t made a debut this weekend, though, as Worcester haven’t selected him for Saturday’s game versus Exeter.
It was only earlier this month that ex-Wales forward Thomas was promoted to head coach at Worcester under Alan Solomons, so the recruitment of players is a responsibility that is new to him.
However, he believes his club have got the signing of Ashton spot on, Thomas explaining how a positive impression left on him in 2018 fed into the decision that the 34-year-old would be a good addition for the Sixways club.
The Barbarians link-up came about when Pat Lam coached the invitational side in their 63-45 win over England at Twickenham, a match in which Ashton scored a hat-trick against his country for a team that Thomas was involved with as an assistant coach as he was at the time working with Lam at Bristol.
“The relationships didn’t connect as much… sometimes personalities don’t match, faces didn’t fit"
– England's Chris Ashton has fronted the media – including @heagneyl ??? – just 2?? days after joining Worcester from Harlequins #GallagherPremhttps://t.co/oW3OwnwWf6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 26, 2021
Nearly three years later, the memory of that week hadn’t been forgotten. ‘The big thing we want as a club is to make sure when we do bring people into our environment that they do add value on and off the field,” explained Thomas. “When we saw the ability to bring in Chris, I knew Chris from time in the Barbarians. I worked with him that week and what I saw there was a good person and a good professional.
“Everyone knows his ability as a try-scorer. He is a prolific try-scorer, so we just felt that he could add value to us as a club. It’s always a challenge to bring quality in at this time of the year so it was a really good bit of business for us and for Chris.
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“Chris is a very motivated individual. He is a winner and he has got his eye on that try-scoring record as well. It gives him the opportunity to fulfil that ambition. As soon as you spend any time chatting with Chris, he is an infectious person and you just know straight away he wants to play. He’s competitive so here is no doubts about his commitment to the team.”
“You’re thinking, well how much does a Chris Ashton want? Well, he’d want £200K, £250K. He might get offered £150K, a bit less"
– @TheRugbyPod give their verdict on where the soon-to-be 34-year-old veteran might end up next season #GallagherPrem https://t.co/JxSITFjOtS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 19, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
37 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
37 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
37 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
37 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
37 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
37 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
37 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
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