Outcast Ashton is flying... so why is he such a risk for the Lions?
With shares in two racehorses back in New Zealand, Warren Gatland is familiar with the expression ‘bolter’ — a horse that wins at long odds.
the same term is used to describe a non-test player with an outside chance of a Lions call-up — such as misfit Saracens and England wing Chris Ashton.
having scored 86 tries in his last 147 games for club and country, the 29-year-old should, on paper, be a front-runner to start against the All Blacks in June. But his exile looks set to continue.
A sequence of lengthy bans has meant he has not played for England since 2014 and Gatland is spoilt for choice with backthree options who all featured in the Six Nations.
Former England and Lions winger Mark Cueto said: ‘there’s no question over Chris’s calibre but a Lions call-up? Probably not. his strike rate is incredible but he fell out of the England team because of his discipline. he’s got a fiery track record. there’s only one person to blame and that’s himself.’
Most of Ashton’s tries have been accompanied by the opinion-splitting ‘Ash Splash’ celebration. he has been cast as the pantomime villain so often that he has engineered an early contract release to move to toulon.
it is the curious case of Chris Ashton: the arch-poacher. the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of rugby. he is a master at tracking play and shadowing half-backs to break free, but his critics focus on the defensive lapses that could be punished by the All Blacks.
‘Once you get labelled with a weakness, it’s so difficult to wipe the slate clean,’ said Cueto. ‘Ashton’s defence was questioned in his early days but that was 10 years ago. he isn’t shy of sticking his shoulder in. For me, his defence is good enough.’
Ashton will have one final chance to impress Gatland in the domestic and European play-offs. But the scheduling does not work in his favour, with Saracens players likely to be unavailable for the first Lions camp on May 15.
Add the cash- squeezing business of the modern test calendar, and Ashton’s hopes of joining the likes of Jeremy Guscott, 1989, Will Greenwood, 1997 and Christian Wade, 2013 in the elite ranks of ‘bolters’ are increasingly bleak.
‘Back in the early days, there weren’t that many international games so you would get a few bolters,’ said Wasps director of rugby Dai Young, who toured with the Lions between 1989 and 2001. ‘Now there are 10 international games a year.’
Gatland narrowed down his back-three options during his Six Nations scouting mission. Across England, Wales, Scotland and ireland, there were 15 different wings on display — with Sale’s Denny Solomona soon eligible through residency.
‘there are a lot of wingers to squeeze into four or five tour spots,’ said Cueto. ‘ But it’s not that clear cut because no one really stuck their hand up in the Six Nations.
‘ George North has really struggled over the last 12 months, Simon Zebo had a quiet Six Nations and Jack Nowell was dropped in Dublin. Elliot Daly’s on fire but what’s his best position? Anthony Watson’s been injured and there’s tim Visser, tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland.
‘Liam Williams and Stuart hogg are probably nailed on in the back three. You’d have to say there’s a chance for Ashton. he’s a good tourist but i wouldn’t put too much money on it.’