‘I absolutely adore the man’ – Former England head coach helping Red Roses as Six Nations rout continues

Former England head coach Brian Ashton has been a welcome addition to the Red Roses as they hunt a sixth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title this year.

The veteran attack guru is viewed as one of the great rugby minds and has been roped in by the current Red Roses head coach John Mitchell to add his expertise.

Ashton will have been thrilled to see the side run in 14 tries in a 88-10 win over Ireland on Saturday as the 77-year-old is tasked with putting more bums on seats.

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There were 48,778 fans at Twickenham and the hope is that an attractive brand of rugby will lead to full houses at Twickenham during next year’s home World Cup.

One of England‘s scorers on Saturday was wing Abby Dow, who crossed on three occasions, and she is full of praise for what veteran Ashton brings to the table.

“Brian makes us ask questions. ‘If this is the picture, what is the easiest way that you can take the wins?'” she said as the team made it four wins from four.

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

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“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.”

While England are racking up big scorelines, the flipside is that it highlights the gulf in class in the women’s game and affects the credibility of the Six Nations.

Red Roses too hot to handle

The Red Roses have scored 228 points after four rounds and France are the only European team capable of offering a challenge when they 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.”

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