Brian Ashton and the 2007 World Cup: England in revolt

Matthew Tait, Jonny Wilkinson and Andy Gomarsall reflect on the 2007 World Cup Final defeat to South Africa

Credit: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

When England were outclassed 36-0 by South Africa in their second pool game of the 2007 World Cup, not much hope was on show for the holders. 

It was, undoubtedly, a humiliation which saw the world champions nilled by the dominant Springboks in front of a packed Stade de France.

The metronomic Percy Montgomery, blonde locks and steely blue eyes, kicked them to death with 18 points from the tee as JP Pietersen bagged a brace of tries. 

Reflecting back on the game, Martin Corry recently told The Telegraph: “It was so bad that it was almost surreal. It is shellshock. 

“You were looking around and there was no escape. You just have to stand there and take all the pain.”

In the stands, under fire England Head Coach Brian Ashton sat watching with a furrowed brow and a quiet shake of the head.

The former history teacher must have wondered if it was worth the flak, with rumours of player dissent and infighting dogging the team camp. 

The RFU even took the remarkable step of gagging squad members Mike Catt and Lawrence Dallaglio in the wake of the tournament, over fears they would speak out over his methods. 

Remarkably, the Red Roses would go on to reach the final, being a Mark Cueto disallowed try away from retaining the William Webb Ellis Cup. 

How did this team, in outright revolt over their manager’s methods, rally to almost cause one of the most surprising World Cup wins of all times? 

Ashton’s early career

At the start of his playing career, which took in the sights of Fylde and Orrell during the 1970s, the young Ashton decided to take the plunge and move abroad to ply his trade.

Equally adept at scrum-half or fly-half, he joined Clermont Auvergne and then moved to Italy for spells with Roma and Milan, absorbing the methods and styles of European rugby. 

Returning to England in 1980 to become a history teacher and rugby master at Stonyhurst College, he accepted the backs coach job at Bath four years later under mentor Jack Rowell. 

The West Country club was the dominant side in England under the pair’s tenure, clinching the 1996 Courage League and Pilkington Cup double. 

To this day, it remains Bath’s last domestic trophy and prompted Ashton to take up the Ireland job in 1997. He only lasted a season, citing mismanagement from the IRFU and manager Pat Whelan.

A series of youth development roles with England’s RFU, sandwiched between four years as Clive Woodward’s assistant from 98 to 02, let him do what he did best - oversee and nurture talent.

This long-standing relationship with the hierarchy at the governing body saw Ashton become Andy Robinson’s assistant in May 2006 in the England setup, after leaving Bath for the second time.  

When Robinson was unceremoniously sacked in December that year, Ashton stepped up to the top job - a role he had attempted with Ireland and Bath before but had never truly cracked.

England finished fourth and third in the 2006 and 2007 Six Nations respectively under his watch, with the latter including a 43-13 hammering by Ireland at Croke Park.

Speculation mounted, with whispers growing louder that Ashton would be removed regardless of performances in the World Cup in France that autumn.

Fast forward to that South African thrashing on that balmy night in Paris in September 2007, many players may have been wondering why it wasn’t done earlier. 

Turning the tide

In the wake of the drubbing by South Africa, as Brian Ashton told the Telegraph last year: “After the game, the players really stood up.

England players look on during a 36-0 thrashing by South Africa

Credit: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

“I had a meeting with all the decision-making players the following morning and we discussed what we were going to do going forward. We came up with a very simplified framework. 

“They said are you going to present this to the rest of the squad tomorrow and I said: ‘No, you are the guys who have to operate this on the field, not me. 

“‘Here is the framework we have agreed on, you have to put it into action.’

“It was a fascinating meeting. There was an interesting split in the room between players who were desperately keen to be told how to play, what you want us to do in the second, third phase. 

“I have no idea what they were talking about.

"I don’t know exactly where the opposition is going to be three phases in, I just know that I want to play with width and tempo. 

“They wanted a far more restrictive game plan; while I wanted to give them a framework which I would trust them to implement depending on how the game is going.”

This is one of the key mantras of Ashton’s coaching philosophy - giving the players creative freedom within a structure that allowed them to make key decisions in games.

Whatever the catalyst was, England rallied to emerge from their pool and set up a titanic clash with Australia in the Quarter-Finals. 

One factor is, undoubtedly, the return of Jonny Wilkinson from a niggly ankle injury for their third game of the tournament, a 44–22 win over Samoa in the group stage. 

He kicked all the points in a gritty 12-10 knockout victory over Oz, as Andrew Sheridan bulldozed the Wallaby scrum to win crucial penalties that the maestro converted, with counterpart Stirling Mortlock unable to punish England the same way.

Hosts France were also dispatched in a similar fashion, as Josh Lewsey’s try after 79 seconds and Wilkinson’s left boot pushed England to a narrow 14-9 victory. 

The early try, which is the fastest in knockout stage World Cup history, etched Damien Traille in infamy as the French fullback dithered over a kick before Lewsey snuck in to score. 

It was reminiscent of Inter Milan’s 2012 Champions League victory under Jose Mourinho or New Zealand’s run to the final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup; it was built on winning clutch moments in massive games without necessarily being the better team.

The form sides, such as Marcelo Loffreda’s daring Argentina or hosts France, who had dispatched New Zealand in the Quarter-Finals, fell by the wayside as a makeshift England stumbled on. 

England Revolt

From the outside, although it wasn’t pretty, England were effective and difficult to play. A rugby version of boxing the tricky Tyson Fury or playing a set against the elusive genius of Roger Federer.

On the inside, the camp was in open revolt against Ashton and his methods. 

Damien Traille of France fails to stop Josh Lewsey of England from scoring the opening try during the Rugby World Cup 2007 Semi Final at the Stade de France

Credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Sport

According to Paul Ackford at the Telegraph, players, including captain Phil Vickery, were so disgruntled they talked openly of returning home early. 

He wrote in 2007 that there was: “Limited feedback after poor performances. Disharmony among the coaching team. No half-time analysis in the crucial pool match against South Africa.

“In the somewhat undignified words of one senior player, head coach Ashton was told to ‘pull his f****** finger out of his arse and put some work in.’”

Ashton’s philosophy of letting the players decided their own destiny had come back to bite him, with many feeling his laid back approach was taken too far. 

Talisman Wilkinson was allegedly told to simply “control the play” which was seen by the squad as piling a lot of pressure on a man who is his own worse critic. 

Players were allegedly coaching themselves, with Wilkinson and the backs conducting their own meetings to come up with strategy and plays for the Australia game. 

By hook or by crook, Ashton had done what he set out to achieve; put the players in control. However, it had turned many against him as he was seen by some as clueless and out of his depth.

An unnamed player reportedly told Ackford: “He did nothing in the first few weeks. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was a complete shambles. 

“At the start we had three coaches [Mike Ford, defence; John Wells, forwards; and Ashton] disagreeing with the way we had to play. 

“Then we had input from four or five senior figures from Leicester and Wasps who were championing the different methods preferred by their clubs. 

“All this information was being fed into the mix but no one was standing at the top saying this is how the ship is going to be run.”

After the Wallaby victory, his tactical nous and coaching precision eventually came to the fore. 

Up until then, he had been almost absent, with it taking a semi-final appearance to prompt him into action.

A siege mentality developed, as the senior men took control of the situation to drive England to a final rematch with the Springboks. 

Although outclassed in the showpiece game, the Mark Cueto ghost try and his big toe brushing the touchline still sticks in many an England fan’s mind as South Africa laboured to a 15-6 win. 

Was 2007 a success?

It could have topped off one of the most bonkers World Cup campaigns in the tournaments adolescent history, up there with the equally dysfunctional France team of 2011 that also reached the final. 

For Brian Ashton, he clung onto the top job before being dumped at the end of a second-placed finish in the 2008 Six Nations. 

He retreated into the coaching wilderness, taking on a series of consultancy roles and even working with the New Zealand Rugby Academy set up by former All Black Murray Mexted.

The working-class lad from Lancashire, whose coal miner father Albert who played professional rugby league for Leigh RFC, remain something of an enigma. 

Some believe he is one of the most astute tactical rugby minds that England has ever produced, while his naysayers feel he did not do enough during his spell in charge of the national side.

Speaking to the Independent in 2008, he said of his methods: “I accept it is a challenging form of leadership but I believe it is the best way for long term success. 

“I still had a massive belief in the qualities of those players who were there. 

“I knew what was happening and was happy with the way things were developing. 

“I also had an outstanding captain in Phil Vickery who, besides still being a Test match player, is a great man."

The answer to the riddle of Brian Ashton remains unclear and it might never be solved. But based on the 2007 World Cup, it was an interesting journey along the way.