Few England players have known such highs and lows as Chris Ashton. Either he is airborne over a try-line somewhere or else wondering why things have gone so spectacularly awry. There is no cosy mezzanine level – and probably never will be – for rugby’s modern version of Icarus.
Small wonder he sounds thrilled to be back with England, regardless of the rain that drenched Eddie Jones’s squad at their Algarve training camp on Friday morning. His last international appearance, in a heavy 36-13 defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton five seasons ago, is now such a distant memory he admits a Test recall this autumn will effectively feel like a debut.
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Thirty-nine caps and 19 tries do not tell even a fraction of the story. When he won his first cap for England against France in Paris in March 2010 Lewis Moody was his captain, Martin Johnson was his coach and Mark Cueto was on the other wing. When he scored one of Twickenham’s more memorable modern tries against Australia that same year and racked up a further four against Italy the following February, he appeared on course to challenge Rory Underwood’s English try-scoring record of 49.
Instead the oval ball’s greatest showman has learned expectation and reality do not always share the same postcode. Untimely bans and his decision to relocate to Toulon have, until now, prevented Jones from picking him. His most recent disciplinary miscalculation, in a bad-tempered pre-season game for his new club Sale against Castres, has meant he has yet to make a Premiership appearance for the Sharks. When the 31-year-old finally made his competitive debut in last Saturday’s Challenge Cup game against Connacht, he scored a hat-trick.
Jones would not have Ashton in Portugal if he did not believe a unique talent is still lurking in there somewhere. The Wigan rugby league convert still scores wherever he plays – he broke the Top 14 try-scoring record with 24 in 23 appearances for Toulon – and almost sounds like a wise elder statesman nowadays. “As you get older you feel more comfortable within yourself. You understand more about what you are capable of doing playing-wise and how to get yourself to that place. Some players get it sooner than others. Owen Farrell, George Ford and players like that obviously mature a lot quicker than lads like me, for whom it’s still a slow process.”
His time in France has undoubtedly played its part, shaping him as a player and an individual. The proof was there for all to see when the Barbarians beat England 63-45 at Twickenham this year. Ashton was irresistible, scoring three tries and performing with a confidence and freedom that contrasted completely with most of his opponents. If he brings a similar sense of joie de vivre to the party this autumn, the mood around Jones’s England team will change instantly.
And therein, perhaps, lies the key to Ashton: when a coach rates him – as Jones does – and he is encouraged to play with a smile on his face there are few more effective or instinctive support runners. “I think going away and spending the year in France helped me. I really enjoyed the rugby out there and how they approached it. I definitely try to play like that.”
With his “embarrassing” suspension out of the way – “It’s obviously not what you want when you go into a new club” – he hopes the worst of his frequent career pratfalls are behind him. Unlike Wasps’ Christian Wade he never contemplated a fresh start in American football but he can empathise completely with the former’s frustration with life in international exile. “When things don’t go your way you always doubt things and over-analyse everything. In my case I also had the time to over-think everything. Christian’s obviously taken a more drastic approach but each to their own. Given the union player he is it’s such a risk but I admire him for doing it. I hope he goes amazingly well. I only know rugby or rugby league so it was never really an option for me.”
If there is one recent sports news story about which Ashton is entirely familiar, though, it is Freddie Burns’s self-inflicted failure to touch down the ball for Bath against Toulouse a fortnight ago. His trademark “Ash splash” could theoretically end in similar tears and Jones’s reaction should it cost England a crucial try next month is not hard to imagine. Johnson was emphatically not a fan at the start of Ashton’s career – “I was young and immature then!” – but as recently as last Saturday the latter could still be seen celebrating his Sale hat-trick in traditional fashion.
So will Burns’ experience have any impact on him in an England context? “Poor Freddie! Ahh, I felt so bad for him. Just put it down over the line. That’s what you do isn’t it? Or on the line!” May he have to curb his enthusiasm if he plays against the Springboks? “I never think about it at all. We’ll see.”
Ashton may cut a more mature figure these days but beige conformity has never been his style.