Rugby

England tap into knowledge of Brian Ashton to play entertaining brand of rugby

England can claim a sixth consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France on Saturday.

Abby Dow scored a stunning hat-trick for England against Ireland
Abby Dow scored a stunning hat-trick for England against Ireland (Gareth Fuller/PA)
By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent

England have been tapping into the knowledge of veteran attack guru Brian Ashton to achieve their aim of filling Twickenham.

The Red Roses ran in 14 tries in an 88-10 victory over Ireland that places them on the brink of claiming a sixth consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France on Saturday.

A thrilling attacking performance before a 48,778 crowd was born out of the belief that in order to play in front of a full house of Twickenham at next year’s home World Cup, they must play appealing rugby.

And helping them achieve that aim is Ashton, a former England men’s head coach regarded as a visionary in the game whose expertise has been enlisted by Red Roses boss John Mitchell.

“Brian makes us ask questions. ‘If this is the picture, what is the easiest way that you can take the wins?’” said Dow, who ran in a hat-trick against Ireland.

“I do think it is about asking those questions and having Brian Ashton available throughout the week…I absolutely adore the man.

“The way he phrases things almost makes you re-think the philosophy of rugby. I think in the English brand the philosophy is ‘let’s kick to the corner, let’s take the territory’. But is that the philosophy of all rugby? Can we expand that?

“At the end of the day, professional rugby is a business in its own way. We need to be proving to the whole of England that we can play an exciting brand of rugby.”

Brian Ashton has been helping to shape England’s attack
Brian Ashton has been helping to shape England’s attack (David Davies/PA)

While England march on by overwhelming the opposition in front of them, Ireland’s blowout highlights the gulf in class in the women’s game and affects the credibility of the Six Nations.

The Red Roses have accumulated 228 points after four rounds and France are the only European team capable of taking the wind out of their sails when the rivals clash in Bordeaux.

“I 100 per cent think teams will catch up and as much as we may be on top now, it is on us to try and work to keep that place and demand more from ourselves,” Dow said.

“Because as much as we’d love the game to grow, we want to keep the gap ourselves and continue to prove that we can be the best.”