Can Ash make one final splash?
With ex-England wing set for a move to Worcester...
CHRIS ASHTON’S restless quest for late- career fulfilment goes on, with Worcester Warriors set to become his fifth club in the space of four years.
Having started out as a Wigan Warrior in rugby league, he is destined to finish as one in union.
After leaving Wigan to launch his cross-code adventure in 2007, the 33-year- old enjoyed lengthy spells at Northampton and Saracens, but lately he has moved around with remarkable regularity.
After a season of recordbreaking exploits at Toulon in 2017-18, Ashton has been unable to stay fit and settled in order to satisfy his craving for tries.
He lasted 20 months at Sale and now appears to be on the brink of a sharp exit from Harlequins after just 10 months at the Stoop.
Worcester need a finisher urgently, to cure their unfortunate habit of creating chances but not taking them. So the acquisition of Ashton makes sense, if he is suitably driven to sign off his playing days with a flourish — and his trademark splash celebration.
A year ago, he was talking of wanting to become the first player to score 100 tries in the Premiership. He is currently on 88, after a lack of game-time and scoring returns during his fleeting stint at Quins.
That leaves him four behind Tom Varndell’s leading tally of 92 and having that milestone within reach should inspire him at Worcester.
ASHTONcame home from Toulon after breaking the Top 14 tryscoring record for a season — touching down 24 times in 23 matches.
His feats suggested that the cross-Channel move was working as a therapeutic release after disciplinary problems during an otherwise successful period with Saracens.
He joined Sale after reviving his Test prospects with a hat-trick for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham, but the international door soon closed again, with a last appearance in February, 2019.
With hindsight, he might have stayed in France if he had known how it would pan out back in this country, but the rumours were that Ashton and his family had become homesick anyway.
Since losing the motivation of striving for higher honours, there has been a sense of career drift.
Ashton is also one of the game’s ultimate showmen, so the absence of crowds will have taken a toll. By nature, he relishes performing for an audience and generating adulation in packed stands.
It is impossible to overstate the impact he made when he first broke into the England squad under Martin Johnson. He was so prolific and his scoring routine so iconic that he transcended his sport for a time.
He also drew admiration for the way he redefined the winger’s role, by tracking the play and having an innate ability to turn up in the right place to capitalise on an opening.
During the recent Autumn Nations Cup, the acclaim for Jonny May’s wonder try against Ireland led to a debate about its place in the pantheon of brilliant solo efforts at Twickenham. This, in turn, led to fond memories of Ashton’s classic, long- range masterpiece against Australia in 2010. That was the ultimate example of his art, but there are countless others.
He has always been a jovial character, but also very serious about his work. Here’s hoping he doesn’t just fade into retirement and that a move to the West Midlands will re-energise him.
And here’s hoping that Worcester — a club on the up again — can provide the platform for Ashton to reach his targets by surpassing Varndell and the three-figure threshold.
If he still has the drive left, he has enough time left.