Ashton waits on clubs’ decision

ENGLAND head coach Brian Ashton will learn over the next two days how many of his team to face Ireland at Croke Park will feature in Guinness Premiership action this weekend.

On Tuesday, Ashton named his side for the RBS 6 Nations trip to Dublin on February 24, in the hope it would persuade clubs to rest those players included in the starting line-up.

The policy has met with mixed success. Newcastle’s Jonny Wilkinson will miss Saturday’s clash with Bristol while most of Leicester’s international contingent will not be asked to start against Worcester.

With Leicester judging each case on its own merits, only Julian White will feature at Sixways because he was on bench duty against Scotland and Italy. The same approach ensures Andy Farrell will line out for Saracens against Gloucester on Sunday.

Ashton is waiting on confirmation from Wasps, Gloucester, Sale and Bath on whether their England stars will be selected over the weekend, with the clubs likely to name their team line-ups tomorrow.

But Premier Rugby, the umbrella organisation for the 12 Premiership teams, yesterday reminded those clubs they are free to pick their England players if they wish.

A statement read: “The RFU has rightly confirmed the decision as to whether a player plays during the fallow weeks of the Six Nations is entirely with the clubs.

“As ever, the clubs will make this decision based on the right balance between playing and rest for each individual player.”

Ashton’s decision to name the team an unprecedented 11 days early has put pressure on the clubs to leave out their Test stars, to England’s gain.

But it has further deepened the rift between England’s Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby, with the clubs now in danger of being viewed as villains if they fail to rest their players.

Leicester coach Richard Cockerill revealed the Tigers’ decision to leave out Martin Corry, Louis Deacon, George Chuter and Harry Ellis was based on welfare, not national loyalty.

“You only have to look back to the autumn when Julian White was played four games on the trot by England and we had to rest him for three weeks after that,” he said.

“From a Leicester point of view we want to look after our best players because we have big games coming up after the Six Nations and we want them to be as fresh as possible.”