Chris Ashton has delved into England’s close 16-14 victory over Wales at Twickenham last Saturday, offering his usual abundance of insights and opinions.
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Speaking to Gambling Zone, the legendary winger weighed into the debate about George Ford’s charged down conversation, accusing the England player of being “far too casual” over the kick.
He said: “With this decision, I think the confusion came because George wanted to run the clock down to help the sin bin time go down. He wanted to use the full minute to help his team restore numbers as quickly as possible.
“The problem was, George was far too casual about how he went about it. He took too long, and it was almost like he forgot to take the extra step because it was a easy kick for a player like George.
“This happens when kickers don’t go through a full routine because you just want to take the kick quickly and get it through without it being charged down. It seemed like he just forgot that he wanted to use that extra step.”
Looking ahead to the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Murrayfield in a fortnight’s time, Ashton some significant changes.
“I think that George Martin has been really good for Leicester this season and he will come into the matchday squad.
“Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence have got to come back into the squad simply because of the genetics they offer. They are bigger and stronger than anything that we have in the squad, and you need to make sure that you’re making the most of that when they are available. I think we will definitely see one of those two boys back in the match day twenty-three or potentially starting the game.
“Steve Borthwick will be facing a selection headache. Does he keep the same twenty-three players that have given him two wins at the tournament so far or does he bring a bit of the X Factor into the squad?”
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Luke Cowan-Dickie
England and British and Irish Lions hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie joined Sharks from Exeter Chiefs ahead of the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership season. He played 165 times for the Chiefs and scored 41 tries after coming through the club’s academy.
Originally a loosehead prop, Luke made his professional debut for the Chiefs in 2011 in an Amlin Challenge Cup clash against Cavalieri Prato. A switch to hooker and a dual-registered spell at Plymouth Albion followed before he was fast-tracked into Rob Baxter’s first team.
Luke made his international debut in 2015 starred in England’s run to the 2019 World Cup final. He was selected for the 2020 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, and played in all three test matches against the world champions.