In praise of Ashton......

Without doubt the best sidestep of the match, Fofana was lost, one minute Ashton was right in front of him the next a little jink and he was gone........


........ Oh wait Fofana had the ball and Ashton was meant to be defending, oh well just goes to show what an out and out attacking machine Ashton is, even in defence he is looking to get past players.

Shocking

was there a need for this thread on it's own. Plenty already discussing his crap match!

Ahston has only got half a game. He is good with ball in hand if he has a bit of space but that's about it. He is COMPLETELY useless when it comes to defence in a top flight international game. When you think that the back 3 have to defend way more than attack in a test match then you have to wonder why Ashton gets selected at all.

I watched the Quins v Tigers game last week and Ugo Monye was absolutely outstanding. I'd have him in the team over Ashton any day.

Two changes for the Italy game should be drop Ashton and play Lawes from the bench as a sub.

Ive not been a fan of Ashton for a long time and everytime I see him play he just confirms my feelings. His man on man defence is very poor...his snide attitude also irritates me. When he slapped Etzabeth from behind and the skipped off told me all I need to know. Id go with Foden or Moyne.

Get over it - he's not a tackler, we get it. That's common currency for NH wingers I'm afraid. And it was Lawes' responsibility for the Fofana try. He got little service on the wing and had to come looking for the ball. Generally he did ok.

I have defended Ashton many times...we constantly hear Cuthbert etc are far better finishers etc...utter rubbish..he ius a quality finisher...

However im starting to have serious issues with Ashtons "bottle". He just doesnt like the physical stuff...which is strange wiht him coming from a RL background.

I think we now need to put Johnny May or Wade on in his place...they may lack defensive positioning at times...(this can be fixed) but they have lots of bottle and arent afraid to get stuck in....

I'm of the same opinion as you Geordie. Have defended him frequently in the past but he is getting worse. The cockyness has gone and with it the confidence, I think he needs to go back to his club to rebuild. I have no doubts about his ability in attack but that's suffering too and where others are developing in the EPS he's not Lancs needs to work his magic somehow or we'll lose him from the international scene which would be a shame.

He certainly needs to shore up his defence.... I wouldn't say he's a coward, just not astute and it stops him from being a top class player overall.

In attack he is unique on the front foot, he has pace but it isn't his pace which defines him like cuthbert or visser.... His awareness is top class and I think he has a long career if he looks after himself, even once his pace drops a little.

He has to play very well in next 2 matches if he wants a place in the lions squad.... On form he's a player who will trouble Australia.... The lions won't beat AUS with route one wings, they deal with that easily in super rugby week in week out. Guys like Zebo, Ashton, halfpenny on the other hand will make them sweat and we need them fully fit and on form.

Ashton is by far the WORST international tackler I have seen in the last 10 years, and that includes the revolving door that was Danny Cipriani.

When I was doing rugby training at age 14 (26 years ago!!) if our coach saw us do anything like that in training we'd get extra laps.

Wade & Varndell are scoring tries regularly and simply can't be any worse than Ashton defensively. He's pathetic.

Holy moly, did anyone just see that try by Wade? Has to replace Ashton v Italy.

I guess that's why he came to union. Nowhere to hide in league. Bet his Wigan mates were wetting themselves

But you can teach defence so there is hope for him, but i think he just isn't brave enough.

View that is a good point. Theres a scrawny little lad at our club, to look at him you would.think you could steam right over him. However he can stop anybody dead through sheer courage. I saw him knock himself out stopping a 19 stone 2nd row. Its all about having the guts.

Im a small flyhalf and I love it there because im small and the forwards think they can just run over me but I love to tackle I just think it comes down to wanting to put your body on the line and Ashton don't seem to want to he's not the only player in the world to do so, every one loved him when he was scoring loads nobody cared about his lack of tackling, but because he's got no form at the moment your all just kicking him wile he's down

welshboii15 wrote:Im a small flyhalf and I love it there because im small and the forwards think they can just run over me but I love to tackle I just think it comes down to wanting to put your body on the line and Ashton don't seem to want to he's not the only player in the world to do so, every one loved him when he was scoring loads nobody cared about his lack of tackling, but because he's got no form at the moment your all just kicking him wile he's down

Hi Welshboii
I hate coming across a tackling flyhalf - not something you find too often, but very unpleasant when you do. I've been up ended twice in the last twenty years - once about 15 years ago & again at the weekend - both by a fly half...
I think Confucius said 'its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog'. Never a truer thing said.

Re putting the boot into Ashton, that may appear so, and for some may be right, but I for one have never bought into the hype surrounding him. My 1st post on here was saying pretty much the same thing as I have today.

That's the fun bit about playing is because im small and a flyhalf bigger players tend to think they can just run all over you like you must have until you found that 10 that could tackle its a pleasing thing to see. And that saying you said is TRUE but with conference and that one big hit im sure Ashton will be the person he was known to be

welshboii15 wrote: that one big hit im sure Ashton will be the person he was known to be

I doubt it Welshboii, but we can only wait and see. But even if he does pull off a Brian Lima style hit, I still won't be in his fan club.

Im not a huge fan but iv seen alot worse wings and alot worse defenders