The reason why Chris Ashton is backing England for World Cup glory

Former international Chris Ashton has shared his thoughts on how England will do at the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France. Having recently retired from playing with his last-ever match ending in a subsequently rescinded red-carded appearance for Leicester, the 36-year-old is hoping to over at the finals working as a broadcast pundit.

He didn’t make the cut for England selection at the last World Cup in Japan after signing for Sale following a try-heavy 2017/18 campaign in the Top 14 colours of Toulon, but the 44-cap Ashton is very optimistic about his country’s chances now that Steve Borthwick, his ex-Leicester boss, is now at the helm following the sacking of Eddie Jones.

Appearing on the live pod section at Thursday’s World Rugby EventsCo gathering at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, Ashton, a veteran of the 2011 finals in New Zealand, explained why he feels England can achieve in France despite the current lack of expectation following yet another Guinness Six Nations campaign in which they won just two of their five matches.

“I’m relatively confident, quietly, just because the last season England managed to steal the whole Leicester Tigers coaching team,” he said, referencing how Kevin Sinfield, Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters and Tom Harrison are now all on Borthwick’s staff with World Cup preparations underway since last Monday’s first camp.

“I know them well personally. Steve used the Six Nations as not a practice run but he gave lads an opportunity that he is not going to be able to give an opportunity in the World Cup. He tested players out to see if they are going to be capable of playing at a World Cup.

“We know more where we are at and what kind of players we are going to be seeing. I do think he is going to go back to type a little bit that got us to the final in the last tournament. Steve is a great coach, and he has got a full team of coaches that he wanted in there now. We are not waiting for anything else – we are good to go.

“What they wanted to do was get in, just get this camp going under the radar. The World Cup, we have got a lot of teams that could win it and if we get to a semi-final, I can’t see why we can’t go and win it. I don’t think anyone expects us to but if we get to a semi-final, we have got a chance.”

It was Jones who encouraged Ashton to return to the Premiership in the summer of 2018 with a view to the winger competing for a place in the England World Cup squad. He managed five caps before opting out of the contest and while Jones went on to guide the English to the 2019 decider, he is coming to the 2023 tournament as the new Australia coach.

“They have got the right man for the job,” reckoned Ashton. “Eddie is an unbelievable coach. Not a great man-manager but he is a great coach and he really moved us forward in England in the coaching style. A lot of the coaching style we see now in England is what Eddie did.

“If he wasn’t working with England, Eddie used to spend time coming into clubs. He’d come into Leicester and would take the academy players for a session just to keep up to date and in touch with the players and practice his sessions with them.

“There is not that many I have seen that are that dedicated to coaching as Eddie is, so they have definitely got the right man for the job. It’s just if the players they have got get up to speed quickly enough and are of the standard they need to be for the World Cup.”

Ashton finished his career as the record all-time Premiership try-scorer, but he didn’t get his desired Twickenham farewell. Interim Leicester boss Wigglesworth had promised him he would be selected for the final if the Tigers got there, but they exited with a semi-final loss to Sale. Now permanently on the sidelines, he is relishing the prospect of heading to France as a World Cup spectator.

“I wouldn’t like to be involved, there is too much pressure and I can’t cope with the anxiety,” he admitted about the different dynamic that surrounds a World Cup compared to Six Nations and other Test rugby. “There is definitely a big shift in players as it’s a knockout tournament with the pressure on them and everyone wants their country to do well.

“That knockout element adds so much pressure to the players and as you get further and further down the line, you get further and further desperate (to win). But the perfect place to play rugby is France. The whole country is loving their rugby.

“I only played a year there – it was too hot for me, I got sunburnt and had to come back – but every stadium I went to on away trips was full and rocking. They love their club rugby. When you went for European rugby it wasn’t as bouncing or intense.

“They are all about their (Top 14) club rugby and that will definitely go into following their country. They have got some amazing stadiums; they are set up for this and I can’t wait to be out there for a bit of it.”