Chris Ashton slams George Ford for being 'far too casual'

RUCK’s 2024 Guinness Six Nations content 

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Speaking to Gambling Zone, the legendary winger weighed into the debate about George Ford’s charged down conversation, accusing the England player of being “far too casual” over the kick.

He said: "With this decision, I think the confusion came because George wanted to run the clock down to help the sin bin time go down. He wanted to use the full minute to help his team restore numbers as quickly as possible.

"The problem was, George was far too casual about how he went about it. He took too long, and it was almost like he forgot to take the extra step because it was a easy kick for a player like George.

"This happens when kickers don’t go through a full routine because you just want to take the kick quickly and get it through without it being charged down. It seemed like he just forgot that he wanted to use that extra step."

Looking ahead to the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Murrayfield in a fortnight's time, Ashton some significant changes.

"I think that George Martin has been really good for Leicester this season and he will come into the matchday squad.

"Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence have got to come back into the squad simply because of the genetics they offer. They are bigger and stronger than anything that we have in the squad, and you need to make sure that you’re making the most of that when they are available. I think we will definitely see one of those two boys back in the match day twenty-three or potentially starting the game. 

"Steve Borthwick will be facing a selection headache. Does he keep the same twenty-three players that have given him two wins at the tournament so far or does he bring a bit of the X Factor into the squad?"

Steve Borthwick has announced that reinforcements will bolster England's lineup for their upcoming 2024 Six Nations match in two weeks' time.

England and British and Irish Lions hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie joined Sharks from Exeter Chiefs ahead of the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership season.  He played 165 times for the Chiefs and scored 41 tries after coming through the club’s academy. 

Originally a loosehead prop, Luke made his professional debut for the Chiefs in 2011 in an Amlin Challenge Cup clash against Cavalieri Prato.  A switch to hooker and a dual-registered spell at Plymouth Albion followed before he was fast-tracked into Rob Baxter’s first team.  

Luke made his international debut in 2015 starred in England’s run to the 2019 World Cup final.  He was selected for the 2020 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, and played in all three test matches against the world champions.  

British and Irish Lions and England star Manu Tuilagi joined Sale Sharks from Leicester Tigers during the 2019/20 season.

The powerhouse is an England regular, and has amassed 43 caps since his international debut in 2011, including a starring role in the 2019 World Cup.

He also appeared for the British and Irish Lions during the 2013 tour to Australia.

Manu began his rugby career in the Leicester Tigers academy, following in his older brother Anitelea’s (Andy’s) footsteps. Andy also played three seasons for the Sharks between 2008 and 2011.

He made the switch to the North West on an initial one year deal but in September 2020 a serious achilles injury in just his eighth game for the Sharks ruled the Samoa-born centre out for eight months.

Manu returned from the injury in May 2021 and was named in the updated England squad for their 2021 summer tests against the USA and Canada. Unfortunately a hamstring strain meant he had to withdraw due to the injury.

On his return from injury in May 2021, Alex Sanderson told the Guardian: “Manu’s in great shape ... he looks massive. I had to stop him running because he was just running through the lads in the live tackling. It’s really exciting to see. He looked scary out there, scarily powerful.”

Since moving to Leicester Tigers in 2016, George Martin’s rugby career has motored with international honours and silverware both secured in a short space of time.

George started playing rugby as a nine-year-old at Fairfield Preparatory School in Loughborough but admits he played more football than rugby in his early years. A keen Leicester City fan, it was his parents, dad David and mother Claudia, who always insisted he competed in as many different sports as possible.

He moved to Brooksby Melton College in 2017 to study BTEC Level 3 Sports Science and it was there that he started to believe he could make it to the top in rugby. George has rugby in his genes, with his brother Felix having played for Loughborough Grammar School and Loughborough Rugby Club. George made his senior debut for Leicester Tigers in a cup game at Worcester which kicked off the 2019/20 season.