Video - 'I did that before...it didn't end well. I'll stay away of Manu' - Ashton rules out injuring rival in training
Chris Ashton’s list of international caps shows four years and five months between the last two appearances in the red rose for England but his fortieth last week against South Africa was vindication for his move back to home shores this season following a spell at Toulon. He spoke to RugbyPass about when he heard he would be playing and the prospect of facing the All Blacks this week.
Ashton said, “It was the back end of the week. Manu just caught his leg right at the end of training, unfortunately for Manu but I was very grateful for the opportunity to come my way. I was really happy to get on the field no matter how long it was, I was just happy to be out there.”
With so much time between appearances, the Sale Sharks winger is well placed to examine the differences of atmosphere and talent within the England set up under Eddie Jones compared to previous head coaches.
Ashton commented, “It’s a very different feel. Eddie has a great relationship with all the players. He keeps a very cool head and everyone feels comfortable and enjoys the environment.
“Obviously being quite new into this environment, it’s different and a very enjoyable one. It’s a very competitive one too, everyone’s always pushing in the right direction. At the minute there’s 36 players in the squad but everyone’s fighting to be in the 23 every week, probably more so than I’ve ever experienced it and I think it’s a very healthy environment right now.”
On Ashton’s roster of international appearances, it was just twelve games ago that he was part of Stuart Lancaster’s side that beat New Zealand in 2012, a side that memorably featured Manu Tuilagi along with Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell as the only names from last weekend who also played in that game.
Ashton recalled, “It was a good day, it always is. New Zealand don’t get beat very often so to be involved in it was a very nice experience for me and the players involved but I don’t think it carries too much weight this weekend.
“Our team’s very different and their team’s very different and it’ll be a very different game from the one we had last weekend. But in the same regard we’ll treat it exactly the same as we did South Africa and it’ll be a game where we’re trying to get the plan right and the detail right and win the game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Should have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
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