Ashton: rebuilding job might take that little bit longer

BRIAN ASHTON has accepted his England rebuilding job might take longer than initially thought after the world champions’ Croke Park calamity.

Outmuscled in the forward exchanges, out-thought at half-back and outpaced by Ireland’s magnificent threequarters, England must head back to the drawing board ahead of hosting RBS 6 Nations title favourites France on March 11.

Some players will come under scrutiny more than others – former England captain Will Carling has already questioned centre Andy Farrell’s selection at inside centre – but it is the pack which requires closest attention after the Ireland forwards dismantled them piece by piece.

Ashton said: “I was hoping we would be a lot more competitive than we were, and I was expecting us to be a lot more competitive.

“So from that point of view, maybe the rebuilding job might take that little bit longer than we thought it would two or three weeks ago.

“We have all got to work hard to make sure we get England back on the road to where they should be in world rugby.

“That has been my aim and the players’ aim right from the very start. We’ve had a hiccup on the third step of the journey and fallen down a couple of steps — we’ve now got to start climbing back up them again.”

It was England’s ninth loss in their last 12 Tests, although victories over France and Wales next month could still see them feature prominently in the title shake-up.

Ireland, though, exploited weaknesses at such crucial disciplines as scrum, line-out and sheer physical presence around the breakdown, where England were alarmingly second rate.

Ashton added: “If you had seen the mood in the dressing room after the game it was like being in a mortuary. There is no disguising the fact what the players felt like, which is good.

“I knew it would be difficult. This Ireland team has been together for three or four years now – we’ve been together for three games, which is a fair old difference in terms of experience, knowledge and things like playing systems.

“We knew we would have to go up two or three levels, not to beat Ireland, but to compete against them, and we didn’t do that.

“We were on the back foot up-front. I am not taking any credit away from Ireland – I thought their forwards were magnificent.

“After being beaten by France in the last minute, they weren’t going to sit back and watch us play, that’s for sure.

“They gave us no space and time in which to play. Ireland are better than we are at the moment, and we lost to them. We know we have got a hell of a lot of work to do – it’s as simple as that.

“We were beaten all over the field. We knew it would be a difficult game, but we hoped to gain parity or dominance in some areas of the pitch.

“They looked a lot more physical than us, and they were more physical in the collisions. I didn’t see that result coming.

“I don’t feel embarrassed or humiliated. I feel there is a lot of work to do, but we already knew that.”

While Ashton is unlikely to make wholesale changes for the France game, he will need to monitor the fitness of full-back Olly Morgan and flanker Magnus Lund.

Morgan was forced off in the first-half because of a shoulder injury, while Lund did not appear for the second period due to concussion.

If Morgan’s injury proves serious, it could leave Ashton with a major problem in the number 15 shirt, given that Iain Balshaw missed the Dublin trip due to a groin problem and another alternative – Sale Sharks’ Jason Robinson – was ruled out because of a neck injury.