Six Nations: Chris Ashton once feared his switch to union was a mistake. His try record proves otherwise

Published on Saturday 12 March 2011 15:12

IF CHRIS Ashton's father had had his way, the most prolific championship try-scorer since Scotland's Ian Smith in the 1920s would never have played for Northampton. Nor would he have scored nine tries in ten Tests for Martin Johnson's England. And, most importantly, he would never have swallow-dived his way into the hearts of the massed ranks of sweet charioteers who will pack Twickenham today.

Instead, had Kevin Ashton prevailed, his son would have been wearing the red and white stripes of his home town of Wigan as they won their first Challenge Cup for 12 years rather than doing battle with Scotland in today's Calcutta Cup. Yet, after a rugby league career of unbroken success in which the teenage wing announced himself by scoring nine tries in an age-grade game, going on to score two tries on his Wigan debut as an 18-year-old before then notching up an incredible 32 tries in 50 games for the Warriors and three in four games for England, he crossed the Rubicon and joined Northampton Saints.

Ashton actually wanted to stay in League. Wigan, though, had him on a contract of 25,000 a year and refused his demand for 75,000 a year. With Northampton offering him 140,000 a year, and the lure of international rugby and this year's World Cup, the decision was a no-brainer for the 20-year-old. Vilified and booed in his last few games for Wigan ("I nearly had my head ripped off, I couldn't go out in the town"), and knowing that he was going against his dad's wishes - even though Kevin had played Union before switching to the 13-a-side game - Ashton threw himself into his new career and claimed the sort of success in Union that had marked him out in League, scoring a try against London Welsh with his first touch for Northampton and going on to score 41 tries in 28 games in his first season.

Yet that first season was a misleadingly-easy introduction. When Ashton joined them, Northampton were trying to gain promotion to the top flight and National League One was a world away from the tight, attritional Premiership. Ashton's weak defence was ruthlessly exposed in the Premiership and, within weeks of the new 2008-09 season, Ashton found himself playing on wet Monday nights for Northampton's second team.

Six Nations coverage in full

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• Tom English: 'English jibes must represent an effrontery to the proud Scots'

• Chris Ashton once feared his switch to union was a mistake. His try record proves otherwise

• Sound of silence will be a result for Scotland at England's fortress

• Calcutta cup head to heads

• Italy 22 - 21 France: Nick Mallett's finest hour

• Wales 19 - 13 Ireland: Irish fury over winning try fails to dampen Welsh joy

• Women's Six Nations: Ruth Slaven eager to tackle the English

For a player used to unfettered success and the adulation that came with it, the shock of his new, lowly status was devastating. "I thought I was going to have to slink back to League with my tail between my legs," he said. "With everything going so well for me from a young age, when you get a big setback like that you feel you're not wanted any more. That's something I wasn't used to but it was something I had to deal with. Now I look back and I think it was the making of me.I'm sure my dad would say that to me."

Ashton decided to tough it out, watching endless videos, talking to coaches, practising his tackling and positional play, and finally getting to grips with the role of a wing in Union. "It was a long road back. I was very low, I didn't really know what was happening," he says. But he hung in there, and it proved to be the right decision. After a season on the sidelines and in the reserves, his game had been rebuilt. His speed had been maximised through endless sessions with Dutch sprint coach Frans Bosch, he retained his instincts from League to run on the shoulder of the ball-carrier, and he no longer had the defensive weaknesses which had so undermined his play. When he got a chance in Saints' first team he grabbed it with both hands, playing well against Gloucester, scoring a try out of nothing against Leeds and proving imperious against Munster. If Ashton was back, so too was his swallow dive, with the trademark flourish getting plenty of outings as Ashton ended the season as the Premiership's top scorer.

That manoeuvre, though, is more than merely a self-consciously showy finale to try-scoring moves. According to Johnson, it is a window into the personality of a player whose infectious joy galvanises team-mates and enthuses supporters.

"Chris is more than just a finisher," said Johnson. "He's a good lad. He has brought an energy to the team, as have all the young guys. Everything's a little bit new to them, it's all exciting, and they're having fun."

England's players have spoken in glowing terms about the effect that Ashton has had on the side and many have highlighted his uncanny ability to predict how play will develop, plus his tireless work ethic and the number of unrewarded runs he makes. But it is the tries which are transforming England.

With two tries against Wales and a Six Nations record of four against Italy, Ashton would already have beaten Will Greenwood and Shane Williams' record of six tries in a Six Nations Championship had his 'try' against France not been ruled out for a forward pass. If there is one dark cloud on Ashton's horizon, it is that his father Kevin, who died of cancer nine months ago, is not here to see his triumph. Yet even then Ashton's glass-half-full personality comes to the fore.

"He got to come to see me make my debut in France, which was a big thing," says Ashton. "He didn't really want me to come to Northampton, but by the end he realised it was the right thing for me to do, and I hope I made him very proud. Every time I score I think of what he would think."

Kevin Ashton famously disapproved of his son's swallow-dive celebration, remaining convinced that he would drop the ball one day. But, in every other respect, you can't help feeling that Ashton Senior will agree with his son that things have turned out for the best. Unless, of course, you happen to be Scottish.

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