'Just hugged him': Worcester respond to 'Ashton wants out' rumour
Worcester boss Jonathan Thomas has dismissed speculation that ex-England winger Chris Ashton is unhappy at the club and is looking to leave the Gallagher Premiership outfit who celebrated their first on-field league win last Saturday since last November. The 34-year-old joined the Warriors last January from Harlequins but injury has meant he has only made four appearances so far.
Ashton was unavailable for last weekend’s season-opening victory over London Irish at Sixways and it was speculated on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod that he is looking to leave, speculation quickly shot down by an exasperated Thomas who claimed he had just hugged the veteran on the training ground on Tuesday after he came through his first proper session in a while.
It was during a reflection on the rare Worcester Premiership when Rugby Pod co-host Jim Hamilton asked Andy Goode where Ashton was, a query that promoted an eye-raising response. “Rumour has it, I have heard on the grapevine he [Ashton] ain’t happy, Worcester ain’t happy with him, he is going to be leaving there soon,” claimed Goode. “I genuinely have heard that.”
The allegation was soon put to Thomas at his weekly Worcester media briefing and he dismissed what was said on the show. “Who was it with the rumour? Andy Goode, I’ll have to give him a call after this,” quipped the rookie Warriors head coach. “Goodey likes to say ‘I’ve heard’ or ‘I have got a source’, he likes that one. He can just give me a call, he has got my number, he can call and ask me. He hasn’t done that. I have just hugged him [Ashton] on the training field, so what do you think?”
It was with the Barbarians where ex-Wales back-rower Thomas first got to know Ashton, who is contracted at Worcester through to the end of the 2021/22 season, and while his time at the Warriors has been frustrating, the coach is expecting great things soon from the former Premiership title winner.
This week we’ve got @FreddieBurns on the show to catch up on life back home in Leicester ?
Hear the debrief after @AndyRoweOnline’s eventful Ibiza Stag… ?
Listen HERE: https://t.co/826uGWwJdd
W/ @goodey10 & @jimhamilton4 pic.twitter.com/nFpRzFAnwe
— The Rugby Pod (@TheRugbyPod) September 21, 2021
“Ashy trained today [Tuesday], first proper session. I gave him a hug after the session because it has been really tough for him. Since he has come to the club he has had calf issues, knee issues. He is a champion player who is very, very competitive and it has been really frustrating for him that he hasn’t been able to get out on the field. What makes him happy is training hard and playing and scoring tries so he hasn’t been able to do that, but he took part in the session there today and he had a really good contribution.
“He will not be available for selection this weekend (at Harlequins) and Gloucester is probably too soon. It’s almost like a player that has come back from a long-term injury. What Chris has to do now, we have to increase his load, build his capacity and we are hopeful he will be fit and available to play in a couple of weeks’ time. It’s the first time we have seen him going hard, running hard in quite a while, so really pleased that he is up and running.”
Hamilton, an ex-Saracens teammate of Ashton, had joked with Goode on The Rugby Pod that he was happy things weren’t working at Worcester for his former colleague. “Ashy used to come in every single day and call me horrible names, say I used to look like a bag of sick when I was sat there with my achilles was torn, my rib broke, my fingers pointing in a different direction and I couldn’t breathe out my nose because it was broken in three different places – so he bloody deserves it.”
“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
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to comments