Time for Ashton to make his mark

Expect Brian Ashton to crack on at a fair old pace following his reappointment as England head coach, says Andrew Baldock.

Brian Ashton, on Thursday, spent the first anniversary of him landing English rugby’s top job in exactly the same fashion as a year ago – by addressing journalists at Twickenham.

Five days before last Christmas, Ashton was unveiled as Andy Robinson’s successor in the hot seat.

But this time around, after a roller-coaster twelve months, Ashton was backed by a further vote of confidence in his ability to lead England as he fronted another press conference.

Mind you, it does raise the question of why a coach who led his team to a World Cup Final was kept waiting two months before receiving confirmation he could continue?

Could you imagine the same scenario unfolding in soccer or cricket? Then again, England teams in those sports don’t tend to reach World Cup Finals anyway.

But now that Ashton is in charge for at least another year, he is likely to leave far more of a personal footprint in 2008 than he has done so far.

Ashton’s initial months in the England job were spent fighting fires following a dismal, failed Robinson regime.

Three home wins in the Six Nations proved a par score, and although an under-strength, illness-ravaged squad were smashed twice by South Africa on tour during the summer, England’s World Cup recovery lifted a nation’s spirits.

Reaching a World Cup final 36 days after being destroyed 36-0 by the Springboks was Boy’s Own material.

Whether it was Ashton who drove the recovery or senior players – I prefer to think a combination of both elements was responsible – England still became only the second country to reach successive World Cup finals.

And from Ashton’s perspective, planning for the next one – New Zealand 2011 – is likely to gain an early viewing when he announces his Elite Player Squad (EDS) on January 2.

Of the World Cup squad, Jason Robinson has retired completely and Mike Catt is no longer available for Test rugby, while there is little benefit in retaining magnificent England servants Mark Regan and Lawrence Dallaglio, who are both past their 35th birthdays.

Andy Farrell and Perry Freshwater are others who might not be required, but a substantial core element to Ashton’s 2008 squad is provided by players such as Jonny Wilkinson, Mathew Tait, Paul Sackey, Andrew Sheridan, Simon Shaw, Martin Corry and Lewis Moody.

But the real excitement comes with a bright-eyed batch of possible new additions, those individuals who will be identified as English rugby’s future – potential World Cup stars.

I give you the following: Chris Ashton, Nick Abendanon, Olly Morgan, Matt Banahan, Anthony Allen, Jordan Turner-Hall, Shane Geraghty, Adam Powell, Danny Cipriani, Ryan Lamb, Danny Care, Ben Foden, Alex Clarke, Jason Hobson, Tom French, Tom Mercey, Dylan Hartley, David Paice, Tom Croft, George Skivington, Nick Kennedy, James Haskell, Luke Narraway, Chris Robshaw and Jordan Crane.

Some of them – such as Morgan, Allen, Geraghty and Haskell – have already made an international breakthrough, while 2008 will surely herald the introduction in some capacity of players like Cipriani and Hartley.

Ashton’s challenge will be to successfully mingle new with old, but there must be change and a freshening-up exercise in terms of squad personnel.

England criminally wasted the weeks and months immediately following their 2003 World Cup triumph.

It was a period notable for several retirements, but precious little else apart from the start of England’s demise.

England planned to win the World Cup in 2003, but they didn’t have a clue what to do afterwards.

After reaching another final, Ashton’s England cannot afford to make the same mistakes. There must be no more fraught games of catch-up, and it all starts with this season’s Six Nations.

Wales are first on England’s radar at Twickenham – Cipriani was three months old the last time Wales won there – followed by away encounters against Italy, France and Scotland, then a home appointment with Ireland.

Buoyed by the confidence of a memorably, if unexpectedly, successful World Cup campaign, there is no reason why England should not challenge strongly for Six Nations silverware.

It is about time they did as well, given the 2003 Grand Slam triumph represented their last trophy-winning campaign.

But the real thrill for England supporters could be the way in which Ashton’s men go about it, combining that age-old team sport philosophy of youth and experience.
The rubble left by Robinson has finally been cleared, and building for the future can finally begin – Ashton’s way.