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The revolting English

Brian Ashton: Was England's revival down to his inspiration?

A report surfaced in the Telegraph on Sunday about just how England managed to turn their World Cup around after the 36-0 drubbing at the hands of South Africa.

Apparently the team meeting the Saturday after England had folded so horribly against the new world champions was more heated than previous reports had suggested, with the players telling Brian Ashton in no uncertain terms to pull his finger out of his proverbial.

Ashton came into the job renowned for a hands-off approach to the coaching administration, with immense tactical expertise but limited man management application.

It had worked before, but in the England set-up it was not the right technique, with Jonny Wilkinson falling foul of his own analysis rather than someone else's encouragement.

Other players lost their direction, and the coaching team began to coach different strategies, with nobody able to come up with a unified approach to the game.

The effect was noticeable on the pitch, with a number of wrong options chosen at wrong times, and no identifiable tactical approach to any of England's opening matches.

"He did nothing in the first few weeks. Nothing. Absolutely nothing," one unnamed player was quoted as saying.

"It was a complete shambles. At the start we had three coaches [Mike Ford, defence; John Wells, forwards; and Ashton] disagreeing with the way we had to play.

"Then we had input from four or five senior figures from Leicester and Wasps who were championing the different methods preferred by their clubs.

"All this information was being fed into the mix but no one was standing at the top saying this is how the ship is going to be run.

"That was the thrust of the meeting we had after the South Africa match, us saying to him [Ashton] you need to sort yourself out."

Jonny Wilkinson was the hero for England much of the time, but even he was suffering, and even when it appeared he was doing most of his job perfectly well.

"The coaches put too much on him," said another unnamed team-mate.

"He was told to control the game. (He) analyses himself to death at the best of times and it detracts from what he is good at.

"Against Tonga there were opportunities when he would have instinctively passed the ball but he did those stupid up-and-unders because his brief was to control the game.

"What he's good at is getting away from 10. Play him slightly wider and he loves that. At the start of the second half against the Aussies, he was actually shouting, 'I'm not in the game. I can't get into the game'.

"When things were going wrong on the pitch, he (Ashton) came in at half-time and couldn't tell us anything. He didn't tell us how to correct it. The onus was on the players but you need someone to present a couple of points during the interval yet no one did."

Yet Ashton was credited with the tactical expertise which turned England's fortune around as well, especially once the pressure had been lifted by the narrow win over Australia.

"Brian relaxed massively after that," a player said.

"He started coming back to the way he knows how to coach. In the last two weeks he has come to the fore again, saying this is how France and South Africa defend, these are the moves that will work against them.

"After 13 weeks together we finally started playing the way we wanted to play. The belief within the group went through the roof."

Ashton still stuck to his guns - before the semi-final he even admitted that his job was all but done two days before, saying: "I just keep out of the way today and tomorrow.

"It's about the players. We've talked about how to attack and defend.

"If France come out and do it differently it will be the players who have to react. These guys are very experienced. They are more than capable of looking after themselves."

Apparently they did. The jury is thus still out on whether Ashton's approach was genius or whether it was the players who turned things around themselves.

Ashton's performance is due for review over the next month, and it will be decided whether his services will be retained as England coach. This report, and the rumours contained within, may have a significant impact on that process.