BRIAN Ashton is expecting the speculation about his future as England head coach to continue. England brought the curtain down on their Six Nations campaign with a fine 33-10 victory over Ireland on Saturday, spearheaded by young fly-half star Danny Cipriani, who kicked 18 points.
But the tournament also saw England suffer a first defeat at Twickenham against Wales for 20 years and produce an awful display in losing to Scotland last week. England's next mission is a daunting two-Test tour to New Zealand in June.
When Asht
on, who oversaw England's run towards a second successive World Cup final appearance in October, was re-appointed before Christmas, RFU elite rugby director Rob Andrew described the contract arrangement as "indefinite". That was interpreted as being a 12-month rolling deal, although it has been reported in some sections of the media that a disgruntled RFU membership faction want Jake White appointed to the top job sooner, rather than later. Andrew will soon start his Six Nations review following a tournament that saw England finish runners-up to Wales, their highest placing since 2003. Ashton is expected to lead England in New Zealand, but whether he continues after that is anyone's guess.
He said: "Whether I am staying in the job or not I've no idea. Wait and see."
Asked if he thought questions over his future would continue, Ashton said: "Permanently, because that's the way things happen. People are constantly questioning."
Scorers: England: Tries: Sackey, Tait, Noon. Cons: Cipriani 3. Pens: Cipriani 4. Ireland: Tries: Kearney. Con: O'Gara. Pen: O'Gara.
England: I Balshaw; P Sackey, J Noon, T Flood, L Vainikolo; D Cipriani, R Wigglesworth; A Sheridan, L Mears, P Vickery, S Shaw, S Borthwick, T Croft, M Lipman, N Easter. Replacements: M Tait for Sackey (48), J Wilkinson for Flood (53), P Hodgson for Wigglesworth (75), G Chuter for Mears (76), M Stevens for Vickery (60), B Kay for Shaw (61), J Haskell for Lipman (64).
Ireland: G Murphy; T Bowe, A Trimble, S Horgan, R Kearney; R O'Gara, E Reddan; M Horan, R Best, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, D Leamy, D Wallace, J Heaslip. Replacements: L Fitzgerald for Murphy (35), P Wallace for Horgan (77), P Stringer for Reddan (71), T Buckley for Horan (67), B Jackman for Best (71), S Easterby for Leamy (12), M O'Driscoll for D Wallace (67).
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: S Dickinson (Australia).
The full article contains 415 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
