Chris Ashton didn't hold back with his opinion of James Lowe – dubbing the Ireland winger, “too big, too heavy and too slow.”
“Jonny’s was a really good try. Even the shanked kick, he managed to outsprint seven players across the pitch,” he said.
“That probably says something about the (Ireland) team.
“If I was a winger on the opposite side of the pitch from Jonny; Say I was James Lowe on the Ireland team… when Jonny shanks that kick across the pitch my job is to go across the pitch and get the ball.
“Where was James Lowe? He’s dragging a dresser back there. He’s too big. He’s dragging a tractor, mate, turning. I watched him during the game. He is too big, too heavy, too slow.”
Phil Vickery picks his dream team, and it’s as INCREDIBLE
England legend Phil Vickery, who won 73 caps between 1998-2010, has picked his all-time dream team – and it’s as impressive as you’d expect.
The 44-year-old has kept himself busy since hanging up his boots in 2010, committing his time to his clothing company 'Raging Bull', who recently became an official partner of Gloucester.
Take a look at wh Vickery has picked in his all-time Dream Team below
DID YOU KNOW? Given the nickname "Raging Bull", he played in three Rugby World Cups, including as England captain in the 2007 tournament, and toured Australia and South Africa with the British and Irish Lions.
FRONT-ROW:
1. Christian Califano – I watched him as a lad and he took front row play to a new level. His ball play was excellent and facing him was always a challenge.
2. Keith Wood – A bit of a kamikaze hooker so it was as difficult playing with him for the Lions as it was to play against him! But his work rate and carrying ability were phenomenal.
3. Martin Castrogiovanni – An awesome beast who is just an excellent ball carrier and still a great player.
SECOND-ROW:
4. Martin Johnson – A big hulk of a man, fearless and passionate and one of the best captains I ever played for – he just had the right brain for it. The way he put his body on the line was immense.
5. Ian Jones – He didn’t like the gym but he was the size of a hippo. He feared nobody on the field but off of it he would smile and shake your hand. It was so good to play alongside him at Gloucester.
BACK-ROW:
6. Richard Hill – Extremely gifted player who had all the ability in the world to play and run the ball. When we needed someone to dig in he was your man. He had the full tool bag and quietly got on with it.
7. Richie McCaw – Played against him a few times for England.We spent our whole week just preparing to play against him, let alone the other guys. I wish I had the chance to play with him.
8. Scott Quinnell – Just a fantastic talent for Wales and the Lions. His ball carrying was excellent, he was uncompromising and had so much passion.
HALFBACKS:
9. Rob Howley – I’d have loved to have played with him more. What he did for Wasps was phenomenal. He took scrum-half play to new levels. His passing ability and understanding of the game was exceptional and he’s now a great coach.
10. Jonny Wilkinson – For a forward it was great to know if we won a penalty in range he’d get you three points. I never got frustrated when he did something wrong because I knew he worked so hard to get it right.
CENTRES:
12. Jason Little – Top centre for Australia. You watched shadows for a lot of the game – you knew he was on the pitch but you never saw him, he was that good.
13. Brian O’Driscoll – He was world class. As a young lad he was fearless and I was lucky to have played with him in 2001 for the Lions. A tremendous player.
BACK-THREE:
11. Ben Cohen – Not for his dancing! He was one of the first wings to focus a lot on the highball and he loved to get stuck in – he was more like a back rower. Always looking for work and never let you down.
14. Jason Robinson – One of my favourite memories was Jason scoring the first try in the first Lions Test in 2001. He was great fun to be around, he worked hard and he loved his rugby.
15. Matt Perry – We started playing for England at the same time and I never played with a guy so fearless. His catching superb and he also had a great boot.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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