There is something irresistible about the possibility of Chris Ashton and Danny Cipriani lining up as opposing full-backs when England host the Barbarians on Sunday. Arguably the two most gifted English players of their generation, neither has graced the Twickenham turf as often as his talents warrant in recent years, with England’s management either unwilling or unable to find a place for players who can polarise opinion. On their day, however, both are box office.
Cipriani is back in the England set-up after three years on the outside looking in, which is where Ashton remains having moved to Toulon last summer. Ashton has admiration for how Cipriani has forced his way into Eddie Jones’s squad but, rather than looking back on his decision to snub the 2016 Saxons tour (Cipriani went) with regret, he takes heart from it.
He feels that after a record-breaking first season with Toulon that yielded 26 tries, often from full-back, the final chapter of his England career has not yet been written; that he may one day win cap No 40. “That number 39 annoys me,” he says. “Just to look at it, it’s a terrible number. [Danny] definitely deserves his call-up and, to be fair to him, he has stuck at it longer than me. He’s done the hard work with Eddie. It’s good to see that he’s been rewarded with a chance. It is proof that it can be done.”
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At 31 Ashton is in no doubt he is still of international standard. Indeed, according to Toulon’s recent GPS data, he is quicker than ever. “I’ve been able maybe just to express myself a little bit more. Scoring as many tries as I have has told me, ‘Yeah, I’m still all right at this.’” Suffice it to say the odds on an ‘Ash Splash’ for the Barbarians, on his first international Twickenham outing since 2013, are short.
“This is a chance for me hopefully to show that I’m still knocking around. I did feel as though the [England] door had been shut and it affected my confidence. I thought, why didn’t [Eddie] need me in there? Why wouldn’t he want me in there? I had to go elsewhere to prove to myself and others I can still do it. that I can do it in a different environment, a different league and do it well.”
So does he have a point to prove on Sunday? “Always. I think there’s a point to prove every week, no matter who I’m playing, but there’s got to be a little bit more this time. I’ve played for England, I’ve played at Twickenham and now I am an Englishman playing against England at Twickenham. That doesn’t happen very often. I honestly don’t know [how I’ll be received] because it’s me. I’m Marmite, aren’t I?”
Moving to the Cöte d’Azur was a culture shock at first and Ashton admits he understands far more French than he speaks. He has two more years at Toulon but, perhaps tongue in cheek, reckons he can go on until he is 40 and is not ruling out the return to the Premiership which would make him eligible for England again.
“I went out to France with an open mind and I still have an open mind. I am enjoying it there but I still feel good and would love to play for England one day. It is not something I have shut off in my mind.”
If named at full-back he should have plenty of opportunities to show them what they are missing. And what if he is directly opposite Cipriani? “A match made in heaven that.”