HARLEQUINS HAVE CONFIRMED that former England wing Chris Ashton has joined the club with immediate effect following his dramatic exit from Sale Sharks earlier this week.
Sale announced Ashton’s shock departure on Monday with Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond since revealing that he and the 32-year-old had fallen out over “a disagreement on how we want to play the game.”
Harlequins have quickly pounced to secure Ashton’s services, with the wing bringing his prolific try-scoring record to Paul Gustard’s squad, linking up with former international team-mates Mike Brown, Joe Marler, and Danny Care – with whom Ashton presents a rugby podcast for the BBC.
“I can’t wait to get started at Quins,” said Ashton. “It is a club filled with incredibly experienced and talented players. When I spoke to Gussy and heard more about the direction the club is going in and what it means to be a Harlequin, I knew that this was the right move for me.
“I know lots of the lads at Quins, like Danny, through our England careers and years of friendship. I like the look of what Quins are doing, they are growing a strong squad and the foundations for future success are in place.
“I know that I have still got a lot to give on the pitch and I am confident that being at Quins will enable me to continue scoring tries and help me with my aspirations of reaching 100 Premiership tries, beating the current record.”
Ashton currently sits on 86 Premiership tries, third on the all-time list, while he scored 20 in 44 Tests with England.
The former rugby league, Saracens and Toulon man declined a place in Eddie Jones’ wider training squad before the 2019 World Cup, opting to prioritise spending time with his family.
Harlequins boss Gustard welcomed the new addition.
“We are delighted that Ashy has decided to commit his future to Harlequins,” said Gustard. “I have known Chris for around eight years now and he is without doubt one of the most competitive, professional and dedicated athletes I have encountered.
“His drive to succeed and win is exceptional, allied to his desire to improve and be the best version of himself he can be has always been clear.
“We were very interested in Chris when he was looking to move back to the UK [from Toulon], but unfortunately we were not in a position to compete 28 months ago. However, circumstances change and timings can sometimes work in mysterious ways, meaning we were able to get our man.
“We have four of our senior back three players currently unavailable with injury and therefore to bring Chris to the club is a big boost to the squad.
“The Quins supporters will of course be aware of his prowess on the field and let’s be frank, astonishing try scoring record across all competitions and leagues. This is down to not only his skill, but equally also founded on his incredible work ethic.
“What they will not be aware of is that he is a loving family man with two beautiful kids and will add significant value to our group through his presence. I have no doubt he will also help to drive and develop our exceptionally talented young wings in Cadan and Gabs.
“I am sure the Quins faithful will show their love for Chris on the field and show their respect to him, his wife Melissa and their family off it. It is a great signing for us and adds to the quality that we have at the club. On behalf of all at Quins, welcome Ashy.”
That Munster team should not be losing to that Cardiff team.
@The Irish Pain: also think the team hasn’t lost it’s way since Rassie left.
@The Irish Pain: ***has
And now we see why Keatley just isn’t of a good international standard. I understand he’s playing his best rugby this season but he isn’t at a high enough level for ireland or back up 10 to sexton. He wasn’t to blame for munster losing but he was anonymous for most parts and is still prone to errors at crucial times.
@Anthony Davoren: keatley issue is playing with that moron dunc the muppet.
@Shougeki: cool the jets with the abuse.
@The Irish Pain: yeah , no need for personal abuse but the half backs, all of them bar Murray obviously are sub standard if munster have any high end ambition going forward !!
@The Irish Pain: I dont mean to demean him as a man, and apologies if it came across as abuse but he has no right to be playing professional rugby. I honestly reckon sometimes we would be better off fielding 14 than having “dunc the bunk” on the pitch. He is dreadful. Only munster player i have thought would be better of they picked a randomer from the crowd.
@Shougeki: Best Fans In The World TM (c)
@Shougeki: keatley is just simply USELESS. He wouldent even make a school team & a Coward as well
@Murf: and Shougeki: You pair are an embarrassment to your club and Irish rugby
@Shougeki: Agree totally – reminds me of Tomas O’Leary, only worse.
@Causasua: he reminds you of a player selected to tour with the Lions having been a crucial member of a Grand Slam winning side?
As long as we persevere with Williams we are going nowhere. He is clearly not up to standard which poses the question what are his connections to the top of Munster rugby????? Useless against Zebre two weeks ago and the same tonight. Wouldn’t get near the starting line up of any other pro 14 team.
Dreadful.
@Munsterman: it was worse than dreadful!!!!
10 changes didn’t help. But 9 & 10 were very poor. Keatley’s kicking was shocking in the first half. Understandable that he’s released from Carton! Williams kicked all day to absolutely no effect, apart from gifting Cardiff a try & continuously giving them back possession. Poor leadership on the pitch. Game plan did not work for 75% of the game. Our panel is v weak as shown when our internationals are away.
@Paddy Murphy: panel is strong, it’s literally our halfbacks are the problem.
@thesaltyurchin: Bleyendaal is quality but you need a better 9 than Williams or Hart for sure.
You cant win rugby matches if you have a poor 9/10 , they contributed to 14 pts by errors
We should have killed them off when they had rees in the bin. Fair duce to Williams for his contribution but seriously we definitely have better scrum halves in the munster academy. Thought he slowed the game way down which played into Cardiffs hands at a time we should have killed them. We got 1 point when 5 points were there for the taking
@Kenneth O Connor: What’s the story with James Hart? only getting 10 mins in game like this suggests he’s not rated at all
@Sean Mannion: last time he got a run he was worse than Williams. We need Strings 2.0 (kid a Connacht with a bullet pass)
@Sean Mannion: yeah, what is the story with Hart? Can anybody comment – is Willians a better option or what’s happening there?
Dreadful watching. Really unimaginative tactics and sloppy execution, still trying to maul win games, and with the same problems at 9 and 10 as 5 seasons ago its no wonder we can’t create anything outside, glad Keatley can crack a wry smile when it puts another one out on the full (are we allowed to talk about how crap he can be again now or still a no go?) at least Williams is gone at the end of the season, you could make a cup of tea in the time he has at the back of a ruc, and it’s still not enough. Ref way off on Cronin, Cardiff deserve the win tho. Least we got a losing bonus I suppose.
@thesaltyurchin: where have you seen that Williams is gone at the end of the season?
@Jim Demps: Word on the street.
@thesaltyurchin: didn’t he sign a new contract recently?
@thesaltyurchin: whats the story with james hart?
@Johnny A: Slept with the wrong persons wife presumably!
@thesaltyurchin: I thought he signed a new contract
@thesaltyurchin: Williams has a new 2 yr contract
So incredibly blunt in attack it’s ridiculous. There’s not the slightest bit of creativity there at all, which lead to them constantly kicking the ball away. No evidence of back moves or anything. Dreadful. The defense in the first half was also shocking.
Williams not good enough. Poland did well last week when he came on. Harte also not at the races. Keats is a confidence player, one wheel comes off they all come off. Not one of his better games but others didn’t cover themselves in glory either. Ref had a howler too though. Missed knock on for 1st try and awarded penalty against Cronin for a legit steal. 10 points. Did I say Williams isn’t good enough.
People need to manage their expectations a little bit. Sure we should be beating Cardiff but these blips happen in a season. Especially when you’ve changed your head coach mid season. There has been a huge amount of turmoil over the last 2 years and for me the players have been doing exceptionally well given all that has gone on. For me a successful season will be making a semi in the champions cup and the same in the pro 14. Anything beyond that will be a great season. From there van graan can build during the off season.
Duncan Williams masterclass