From the touchlines: Ashton gets tough

Brian Ashton's threat to show no mercy on anyone who failed to cut the mustard in Paris worked a treat as England revived their Six Nations title hopes with a 24-13 win against France.

By dropping Andy Gomarsall, Ashton had sent out a long-overdue message to his players: under-performance will not be tolerated in future.

Richard Wigglesworth came in for Gomarsall and promptly forged a tidy partnership with Jonny Wilkinson, who seemed to gain a new lease of life as a result. And the young Sale scrum-half capped an impressive first start by scoring the match-clinching try in the final seconds.

Ashton's harsh pre-match words were not lost on Phil Vickery. The skipper has been written off as a spent force by some, but when Le Crunch came on Saturday, he led from the front, tackled like a Trojan and galvanised his team when they came under pressure early in the second half.

The back row, too, at last looked the part, giving away fewer penalties and restricting France's atttacking options.

The question that must be asked is this: why didn't Ashton get tough with his squad earlier in the competition - if not before it began? Had he done so, England might not have been so complacent in the second half of their ill-fated game against Wales.

Do you think Ashton, until now, has been too soft on his players? Can England go on to lift the title? Have your say below...

Comments

[Bobby]

Rubbish question