Ashton: Looking forward to the Premiership

Gloucester need to deliver this year. They cannot hide any more by saying that they are a young side and are still learning the game.

Brian Ashton
Quotes of the week

Catch former England Head Coach Brian Ashton as he joins the Sky Sports rugby team for the opening Guinness Premiership weekend.

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Skysports.com caught up with former England coach Brian Ashton to discuss the new laws and who the contenders for the Guinness Premiership trophy are.

Ashton made his name with Bath where he led them to their last domestic trophy in 1996. Since his days at The Rec, Ashton also coached Ireland before getting involved in the England set-up.

Learning the law

The Guinness Premiership will adopt thirteen law changes for the new season with the IRB's experimental law variations (ELVs). Of the 13, seven to take note of are:

If a team takes the ball into their own 22 and then kick directly into touch, there is no gain of ground.

Offside line is now 5 metres behind the back foot of the scrum.

A quick throw can be thrown in towards the attacking team's own goal line.

There restriction on the number of players who can take part in a lineout from either side.

Defending players can pull down mauls but they must tackle a player between the shoulder and the hips.

Corner posts no longer touch in-goal except when the ball is grounded against the post.

Touch Judges are now called assistant referees and can assist the ref in any way they want.

With a reputation as one of the best attack coaches in the business and having a deep understanding of the game of rugby Ashton is slightly concerned about the ELVs, especially as only 13 of the 33 that the IRB proposed are being introduced.

"I am always a little bit wary of things being introduced artificially as it were," Ashton told skysports.com.

"It is a slight disappointment to me that the game has not travelled along the path in a more natural fashion. It certainly is going to be a big challenge for the players and the coaches in the Premiership this season despite the fact that not all the ELVs have been introduced over here.

"It does seem a bit bizarre that all the proposed changes came into the Southern Hemisphere game but not all of them came into the Northern Hemisphere game, it seems a little lopsided. My past experience tells me that these laws will come in eventually which gives the Southern Hemisphere an extra year to get used to them."

Adapting to the new laws is going to be vital for the clubs and Ashton says that both the players and the coaches are going to have to be very alert.

"You are not quite sure how each team will interpret the new laws. I can actually see in the first three or four weeks of the season, teams approaching the game in completely different ways and it will be interesting to see who will be the most successful.

"The coaches need to get their thinking caps on off the field and the players have to get them on on the field and they need to be responsible enough to take those decisions that will change the way the game is being played."

The contenders

As far as who will be contending for the play-off spots come May 2009, well Ashton throws in a couple of surprises into the line-up of usual suspects.

"A man would be a complete fool to bet against Wasps," said Ashton.

"Year in and year out they are there or thereabouts. I know they have lost one or two stalwart players and Danny Cipriani is not there at the start of the season, but with the strength in their squad I expect to see them up there again.

"Leicester are going to be an interesting prospect too. They have a new director of rugby there in Heyneke Meyer who is a good friend of mine. It will be interesting to see what sort of approach he brings to what is a very traditional Leicester philosophy as to how the game should be played.

"He [Meyer] was very successful at the Bulls and I did a little bit of coaching there where they were trying to change slightly the way the played the game. Given that they had players like Fourie Du Preez and Bryan Habana it made sense. I think Heyneke's mindset has moved well along the road where he will embrace the ELVs.

"Gloucester need to deliver this year. They cannot hide any more by saying that they are a young side and are still learning the game, especially having signed Olly Barkley and Greg Somerville. The Kingsholm crowd will be looking for them to bring home at least one if not two trophies," added Ashton.

"Harlequins are another very interesting prospect especially with Nick Evans at fly half. He could forge a formidable halfback partnership with Danny Care. They have some real fiery young players in the backrow and have some real gas and strike power in David Strettle and Ugo Monye out wide. They could be the side to watch."

Others to watch

Many believe that Ashton's old club Bath could struggle, however the man himself says that he saw enough towards the end of last season to make him think otherwise.

"Bath played some of the most imaginative rugby in the second half of last season," explained Ashton.

"It will be interesting again they have lost the likes of Steve Borthwick and Olly Barkley but have brought in some experienced players in the pack in Stuart Hooper and Justin Harrison.

"The key for them will to get Michael Claasens and Butch James back together as quickly as possible. James may need a break after the Tri-Nations though."

With England having more control over their Elite Player Squad, Ashton says that teams like Worcester and Saracens could benefit due to all the international call-ups.

"One side who I thought got better and better as the second half of the season went on last year was Worcester," explained Ashton.

"I just wonder if they may be the surprise team this season. I don't think they will lose many players to international rugby which will keep their squad together. Chris Latham, who probably thinks the ELVs were introduced just for him because of the way he plays, should thrive.

"They have always had a pretty bruising set of forwards and they also have some pretty good strike power. They certainly showed a lot more imagination toward the end of the season than they have done previously. Mike Ruddock's style of play is beginning to click there.

"Saracens are another side to watch. Poor old Nigel Wray, who has certainly spent more than most, is probably used to having his head in his hands at the end of every season.

"Once again they have made some great signings with Borthwick, Michael Owen and Wikus Van Heerden which bodes well for them. Former Natal Sharks centre Bradley Barritt is another great signing for them.

"He almost joined my national academy about four years ago. He came over with his father and it just did not work out for a variety of reasons. I know what a good player he was then. I think like Worcester they will not be disrupted too much by the internationals, so it is going to be a very exciting Premiership."

The Lions factor

Next year sees a British and Irish Lions side heading to South Africa, and Ashton believes the battle for places will make the Guinness Premiership even better.

"The battle for selection for the Lions tour will have a positive effect on what happens in the Premiership. I would think that some of the Lions squad will be pencilled in before the Six Nations begins and that basically will be based on performances in the Guinness Premiership and the Heineken Cup.

"It will have a very positive effect and even make the Premiership step up a level from where it was last year which was probably one of the best years since the Premiership was introduced."

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