Ashton expects gear shift

Six Nations Championship:Brian Ashton does not need reminding what happened the last time he was in charge for a big England game in Dublin. "I do remember that," he replied evenly when someone mentioned Ireland's record 46-6 drubbing by England in 1997. "England played exceptionally well." Having been on the receiving end as the Irish coach that day, Ashton is keener than anyone to be on the right side of the ledger a decade later.

Publicly, though, he is not about to say so. His unhappy 13-month spell with Ireland in 1997-98 remains a rare blot on an otherwise outstanding record but he has always believed that players, not coaches, are the people who really matter in weeks like this. An awful lot of Liffey water has flowed under O'Connell Bridge in the intervening 10 years and, despite a previous life as a history teacher, Ashton knows better than to dredge up the murkier moments of his career at this precise moment.

Instead, sidestepping all inquiries as to whether he feels more at home in an England tracksuit than he ever did in a green one, he proffered the deadest of bats yesterday before Saturday's fixture. "I'm just a coach of a side that's going across to play Ireland," he protested. It was a bit like Eddie O'Sullivan claiming Croke Park is just another stretch of turf for the Irish.

Surely he had learned something from the whole grim Irish experience, when his professional pride collided messily with the frustratingly amateur ethos of others? "The biggest thing I learnt was that coaching at club and international level are two entirely different things. I soon realised you needed a totally different approach. I feel infinitely better prepared now. I'm older and more experienced, although that's only my opinion."

The Irish, either way, should also be advised that Ashton has spent the last two days quietly studying his own team rather than dwelling on the past. In theory it should have been a nightmarish 48 hours: no England player has been able to do anything above walking pace as the majority shake off the after-effects of weekend club matches.

Only today will the management finally get the squad outside on the training field at the University of Bath, running at full bore.

Is Ashton worried? It seems not. "I'm confident this will be a much enhanced performance. I've looked into the players' eyes and it's pretty evident they're switched on to what is going to happen on Saturday evening."

At the very least England want to play with more elan than they managed on their last outing. "The players en bloc were so disappointed with the performance against Italy and they want to step up two or three gears," Ashton confirmed.

"To be honest we also know we have to. We cannot get away with that sort of performance against Ireland. We got caught in a one-dimensional game which was not our intention. We need more dynamism and movement in our game."

Ashton, in addition, wants his own players to treat the return of Brian O'Driscoll to the home midfield as energising news rather than a concern. "If you really want to challenge yourself at international level, do you want to play Ireland without Brian O'Driscoll? I'm sure our guys are looking forward to matching themselves against him. We've got a number of big-game players in the side and they've got to step up to the mark on Saturday and show their leadership qualities. They'll be used to playing in front of 82,000 people. I'm hoping they'll be able to take in the atmosphere and use it to our advantage."

To help foster greater togetherness within his squad, Ashton's influence since taking over as head coach has extended to England's eating arrangements. No fewer than three restaurants in Bath played host to groups of players last night, with the front five, the backrow and half-backs and the three-quarters encouraged to break bread in separate groups. Ashton, clearly, wants his England side to enjoy spending time together as well as tuning into this weekend's more serious aspects.

The RFU's national academy director Conor O'Shea's presentation on the history of Croke Park apparently went down well. "Our players were really interested," reported Ashton.

"I'm not sure what's shifted across the water since the French game but I suspect it might have given them renewed vigour to win their next game."

What about Ireland's recent domination in this fixture? "It's a different season, it's a different England team. If you start dwelling on what's happened over the last three years you can get dragged up all sorts of strange alleyways."

If anyone is determined not to be mugged in Dublin on Saturday night, it is Ashton.

Guardian Service