Where Did it All Go So Right for England?

With just days to go before England's final November showdown with South Africa, the media are collectively cooing about the resurgence of English rugby on the international stage.  England swept aside the much-hyped Australia, sealing their second consecutive win over the Wallabies in a year before going on to out muscle Samoa last weekend.  Whisper it quietly, but if Martin Johnson's men can beat the World Champions at Twickenham on Saturday then things seem to be coming together nicely for next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.  But hush now, let's not talk about that yet.  It's one game at a time don't forget.

OK, so England lost 26-16 at the hands of Richie McCaw's All Blacks in the opening Autumn fixture, but what a difference a year makes.  This time last November I travelled down to Twickenham to watch England crumble at the hands of a lacklustre New Zealand side.  Everything seemed to be rotten in the England camp, the team was booed off at half-time against Argentina after arguably the most depressing England performance in years before they scraped to an unimpressive 16-9 win.  Even though England won that day, it was probably the lowest point of Johnson's reign.  The day that rugby died.  Calls were ringing out for heads to roll in the RFU, most notably that of Rob Andrew, England's elite Director of Rugby.  The fans were angered by Johnson's staunch refusal to play arguably some of the most dazzling up and coming talents the country had in the form of Courtney Lawes, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden.  In short, last year's Autumn Internationals were an unmitigated disaster.

However, new blood was finally introduced and started flowing in the England ranks this summer.  In June, the side notched up their first win in Australia since the 2003 World Cup final and fast forward to the present to see England playing instinctively and on the front foot.  Ben Youngs, Toby Flood and Chris Ashton were instrumental in putting the Wallabies to the sword again, this time on home turf.  These are the same names the country was screaming out for this time last year.

So did Martin Johnson have his strategy right all along or was the former England skipper more than a little bit lucky?  It's an interesting question, and I'm sure Johnson will argue his plan was to introduce young players when he did after setting the foundations of a solid England side.  Don't forget, those foundations were built around ex-skipper Steve Borthwick, a towering presence in the line-out but hardly cast in the mould of a modern day dynamic second-row, like Brad Thorn, Sam Whitelock, or Courtney Lawes.

People utter the words "seed-change" and talk about a new England as if Martin Johnson has morphed into a grinning Tony Blair circa 1997, peddling his wares about a bright future and salivating over the prospect of getting his ginormous hands on the Webb Ellis trophy yet again.

To win a world cup a team has to be the best in the world for six weeks.  Just six weeks.  All these November tests and summer tours are mere canapes to the main course which kicks off at Eden Park, Auckland in nine months time.  My old history teacher always used to tell me that history is written by the winners.  No-one will remember England's successes from this month if they crash and burn in New Zealand next year.  And expectations are high: England were World Cup winners in 2003 and losing finalists in Paris four years later.  The tournament is being held in New Zealand and anything but the sight of a triumphant All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw clutching the precious gold trophy will spell a disaster for the home crowd.  Another epic New Zealand Rugby World Cup choke.

But similar expectation is starting to build once again for England's hopes of being crowned World Champions.  Fans are so eager to hope and dream that two, hopefully three wins this November signals the World Cup could be, just maybe, coming back home.

This week, England coach Johnson was keen to play down the resurgence of his team, despite the fact they will start as favourites over the Springboks even though they are one place lower in the world rankings.

"Things happen very quickly, expectations change," he told BBC Sport.

"A couple of weeks ago, on the Friday before we played Australia, everyone was talking about them as the best team in the world - and they had a point. By the Wednesday they'd lost two games and suddenly they were in crisis.

"What this autumn series has highlighted is any of these teams is capable of beating the other one."

I'll give him that.  Teams are in a crucial stage of final testing and preparation before next year's ultimate showdown.  Ireland stepped up a few gears last weekend against New Zealand and if they hadn't switched off at crucial moments the result could have been oh so different.  And then to Murrayfield, where Scotland pulled off the shock of the weekend, edging past South Africa 21-17.  Teams are starting to stake their claim for World Cup glory, but all are still facing the daunting task of toppling New Zealand, Tri-Nations champions and ranked number one in the world, from their seemingly insurmountable position at the top.


So has England's resurgence been timed to perfection and can they climb the mountain to the World Cup final next October?  Has Martin Johnson had a plan all along or did he bow to public pressure and change the way England play?  Under skipper Lewis Moody, England look vibrant, full of dynamism, instinct and passion.  Shooting stars like Ashton, Foden, Youngs, Lawes and Dan Cole have all made the step up to international rugby to name but a few.  But what if England lose on Saturday?  Will we all be back to square one?

I don't think so.  England have been in a period of transition for the past two years but signs are they are now leaping out of the pit of despair, let alone clambering up the side.  The old guard is stepping aside for the new.  Whether it was Johnson's strategy all along or if he lucked out in a major way - or even sold his soul to the Devil - I don't care.  I'm starting to believe in England again, one game at a time.

Stats Off for the Creme de la Prem

I love statistics I do.  When I saw that stats gurus Opta had revealed their Guinness Premiership team of the season I almost yelped with excitement.

Why do I love number crunching so much?

Well, stats might never paint the full picture, but they also never lie.

So which players have been at the top of their game based on all 22 rounds of the league? 

Here is Opta's team of the year:

15  Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)
14  Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
13  Ben Jacobs (London Wasps)
12  Brad Barritt (Saracens)
11  Bruce Reihana (Northampton Saints)
10  Jimmy Gopperth (Newcastle Falcons)
9    Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
1    Soane Tonga'uiha (Northampton Saints)
2    Schalk Brits (Saracens)
3    Carl Hayman (Newcastle Falcons)
4    Erik Lund (Leeds Carnegie)
5    Marco Wentzel (Leeds Carnegie)

6    Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)

7    Steffon Armitage (London Irish)

8    Dan Ward-Smith (London Wasps)

If you want to get down to the nitty gritty of the numbers, then have a look at this excellent article.  I couldn't have put it better myself.

It's clear from the stats that Northampton's success has come from the strength and running of their forwards, shown by the inclusion of Dowson and Tonga'uhia, with their pacey backs, Ashton and Reihana, making up the metres and bagging tries.

And Leeds Carnegie's dominance in the set piece is shown with skipper Marco Wentzel crowned top lineout stealer.  His second row partner, Erik Lund, also features for his line breaking and tackling stats.

I could go on all day and bore you with the numbers, but if you're interested in all that you can click the link above and read all about it.

One thing I will say - it really is true that stats never lie.  Four of the five nominees for Guinness Premiership player of the season make it into the team.  Brits, Dowson, Armitage and Tonga'uhia are all there.  Only Sarries' Ernst Joubert misses out.

I wonder if Martin Johnson is regretting his crazy decision not to take Phil Dowson to Australia this summer yet?

Looking at the numbers, I know I would be if I was in his (humongous) shoes...

VOTE NOW! Guinness Premiership Player of the Season

The Guinness Premiership season has all but finished, and with only the title deciding playoff games to go it's time to see which players have made the biggest impact.

Leicester host Bath and Saracens travel to Northampton in the semi-finals after a thrilling final round.

And it's no coincidence that these teams feature some of the most outstanding players to grace the league this campaign.

But who is your player of the season?

Here is the cream of the crop.  Well, in my opinion anyway...

Schalk Brits (Saracens)

Everything the Sarries hooker touched turned to gold this season.  Pacey, powerful and with a step that would make Yannick Jauzion jealous: Brits has it all.  OK, so his line out throwing has been a little hit and miss, but when he starts running with ball in hand he rips defences apart.  This has been his first season in the Guinness Premiership and arguably Brits has made the biggest impact of any player.  With only three South Africa caps to his name it is unbelievable to think he won't add to this tally in next year's World Cup.  Second only behind full back Alex Goode in the number of metres he has made at Sarries, 28-year old Brits is also in the club's top three for carries and tackles. 

Brendan Venter, Saracens coach, said: "Brits is a special player, who does things that can't be coached. He's so talented with the ball in hand - but then you look at his stats and see how many tackles he makes. He has to go to the World Cup."



Olly Barkley (Bath)

Centre Barkley returned to Bath after a brief sojourn at rivals Gloucester, only to miss Bath's difficult first half of the season with a broken leg.  Steve Meehan's team were battling the fallout from the drug scandal that rocked the club, and at the half way point in the season they had plummeted to the foot of the table.  But the return of Barkley and fly-half Butch James inspired Bath to an amazing run of 11 wins from 12 to secure a semi-final spot.  In this time, 28-year old Barkley has been sublime.  His passing, breaks, kicking game and points from the boot has been at the heart of Bath's success.  Surely he must be very close to grabbing a ticket to Australia for England's summer tour?

Steve Meehan, Bath coach, said: "He would be a certainty for the tour if I was on England's selection committee.  I think the 12 months he had away from here has done him a hell of a lot of good. He feels that he has nothing to prove to anybody, and his rugby is showing that."



Phil Dowson (Northampton)

Flanker and Saints vice-captain Dowson is undoubtedly one of the first names Northampton coach Jim Mallinder writes on his team sheet.  The Franklins Gardens' favourite has been a force to be reckoned with this season.  A powerful player with an incredible work rate, Dowson does so much excellent work that often goes unnoticed.  Well, not when he is thundering over the try-line as he often has this season.  The 28-year old's leadership qualities along with his excellent rugby skills must be making Lewis Moody sweat for his England starting place.  Martin Johnson has to pick Dowson to go to Australia next month.

The ever modest Dowson said: "It's probably not suitable to target the England tour but rather make sure that I'm playing well and I'm sorting out the roles that I'm doing with the coaches,"

"If [Saxons coach] Stuart Lancaster or [England forwards coach] John Wells gave me a call I'd be keen as mustard to go along. At the moment I'm concentrating on getting the best out of myself for the Saints."

And that is why everyone at Franklins Gardens loves him.



Chris Ashton (Northampton)

Rugby league convert Chris Ashton has enjoyed unbelievable success this season.  The 23-year old wing from Wigan, Lancashire, has crossed the whitewash 16 times in the league and is the top try scorer.  Electric pace combined with the strength and power of a back-row forward has seen Ashton destroy defences and link up with Saints full-back Ben Foden to devastating effect.  A well deserved call up to England for the final Six Nations game against France saw Ashton kick "that chip" - a move which squandered a try scoring chance the talented winger would have snapped up without second thought for his club.  That one blemish aside, Ashton is the future of England speedsters, and a strong contender for player of the season.

Jim Mallinder, Northampton Saints coach said: "His try-scoring has been remarkable, but it’s his general play and understanding of where to turn up that has really improved.

“He understands the game and where the weak points of defences are.  He is a natural try-scorer”



Soane Tonga'uiha (Northampton)

Prop Tonga'uiha spent a few weeks of the season entangled in a Saints v Saracens tug of war after confusing contract negotiations.  However that was all agreed amicably, with Saints securing the 28-year old Tongan's services for next season.  The battle for his signature is understandable: "Tiny" has been a huge force in Northampton's front row and is the form loosehead in the league.  The sight of the massive forward steaming up the field has become a recurring sight - Tonga'uiha is tenth in the list of top carriers.  Not bad for a front row, who also picked up man of the match awards in the LV= Cup semi-final and final.

But what do the fans say about the man?

"He has just been unstoppable"

"Who can forget the break through & dash in the LV= final?"
"Has been outstanding this season, especially in the LV= Cup Final."
"An amazing player, a truly nice guy and a fans favourite."
"Man mountain demolishes almost everything in his path."
"His displays in the semi final and final were awesome."
"Fabulous performance after fabulous performance."

Hendre Fourie (Leeds Carnegie)

Last but by no means least is Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie.  Fourie has been the stand out player for relegation battlers Carnegie, and despite playing for a so-called "unfashionable" club, the 30-year old back row forward forced his way into the England squad for the Six Nations.  The Leeds number seven qualifies for England due to residency, and has been tipped to play for England by his coach, Neil Back.  Always snapping around the fringes of the breakdown, Fourie is a fierce tackler - topping the Opta stats for his club - as well as being a powerful ball carrier.  "Shrek" is a firm favourite of the Headingley Carnegie faithful and will always be the first name on the team sheet if he is fit.

Neil Back, Leeds head coach, said: "I believe Hendre will go with the full England squad to Australia,"

"He is now maximising his potential and on the back of that he is now, for me, the outstanding number seven in the Premiership.

"Because of that he has now played for the Saxons and been involved in full England training. I believe he will now go on the summer tour and go on from there with England."


So who is your Guinness Premiership player of the season?

Vote now in the poll, which you can find on the sidebar.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

England's Key Battles

France beat England 12-10 on a rain soaked evening in Paris to clinch their ninth Grand Slam.

However England came close to ruining the party, and would have won the game if they hadn't missed a couple of scoring chances.

But there is still plenty to smile about if you're an England fan.

OK, so England should have scored at least one more try.  It's also true that Martin Johnson's men were unable to convert their lion's share of possesion into match-winning points. 

But despite the difficult conditions England showed flashes of brilliance which have been sadly missing from their previous performances in the tournament.

Ben Foden scored a sensational try after five minutes, when England quickly worked the ball through several pairs of hands and exposed France's half-arsed defence.

Unfortunately Chris Ashton kicked away a prime try-scoring chance, but other than that he made a solid debut.  Mike Tindall came back from nowhere and put in a great performance.  In fact, England's backline looked much more threatening as a whole.  There were still problems at scrum time, with prop Dan Cole looking a bit shaky and hooker Dylan Hartley was a little inconsistent.

However, as an England fan, I feel much happier about their performance.  I just hope Martin Johnson remembers how successful the Ben Foden/Chris Ashton experiment was come the summer tour.

All that aside,  during the game I noticed a few key battles which I'd like to draw your attention to:


Martin Johnson 0 v 1 Crazy French Lady

Or Raphael Ibanez's mother-in-law to use her correct title.  The England coach really had his work cut out, as Ibanez's rather vocal relative let Johnno know exactly what she felt about his team.

"Sit DOWN!"

Brian Moore 1 v 0 Referee Bryce Lawrence

Beware rugby officials everywhere.  Brian Moore, ex-hooker and now BBC pundit, is ready to hunt you down.  The former England front row is now a fully qualified referee - and don't we know it.  To give Brian his dues, he was right when he called Bryce's performance "below average".  The ref got a couple of blindingly obvious decisions wrong, and Moore duly savaged him like a rabid dog.

Martin Johnson 1 v 0 Bryce Lawrence

During the first half, referee Lawrence got it into his head that England prop Dan Cole was to blame for all of the problems at scrum time.  Cole was pinged again and again and again.  OK so he was at fault on a couple of occasions, but the Leicester loosehead seemed to cop the flak for pretty much everything.  Well ha ha to you ref.  Johnno shocked pretty much everyone at the start of the second half when David Wilson and Steve Thompson ran out to replace Cole and hooker Dylan Hartley.  But the strategy worked: the scrum steadied and the ref couldn't pin everything on Cole.  Excellent tactics.

Mike Tindall 1 v 0 Harry Potter

When it was announced that Gloucester centre Tindall was back in the number 13 shirt I sighed in frustration.  However, how wrong I was.  Good old Tinds had a fantastic game with his strong, direct running and he was one of England's best players.  When boy wizard look-a-like Mathew Tait swapped places with Tinds, England lost a lot of their momentum.  Tindall might not be a man for the future, but he certainly was more magical than Tait in this game.


Heaven 1 - 0 Earth

The heavens above Paris opened and the Stade de France pitch was duly unearthed.  Massive clods of grass were popping up everywhere.  In fact, it looked like an army of moles had taken residence and the rumbling French scrum had caused them to burrow to the surface to see what all the noise was about.  Pas bien.  It was also pretty dangerous.  I mean, tiny France Wing Marc Andreu could have easily disappeared forever down one of the holes.


Regardless of all of the above, it was a good game.  France weren't the best team on the day, but they were the best team in the tournament by far and fully deserved to win the Grand Slam.

Next year England.  Next year....

Pass the Smelling Salts

France v England, Six Nations, Saturday 20 March.

I think I'm hallucinating.

England coach Martin Johnson has just named his team to face France in this weekend's Six Nations' finale.

The unbelieveable highlights are:

Ben Foden is named at fullback.

Chris Ashton replaces Ugo "I can only run in a straight line" Monye on the left wing.

Super Jonny Wilkinson has been dropped and is replaced by Toby Flood.

Jimmy Haskell, aka Mr Invisible, has been relegated to the bench.

The changes might be too little, too late in the tournament, but at least Johnson is FINALLY opening his eyes and picking the players who are actually performing.

Is this a step towards a more dynamic England team?

Maybe.  A big disappointment is that Courtney Lawes has been sent back to Northampton.  58-year old Simon Shaw starts at lock and the ever dynamic dull Louis Deacon is on the bench.

I suppose Johnson has to dig his stubborn little heels in somewhere...

Still, I'm off for a little lie down to recover from this shocking news.


England Team

15 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
14 Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
13 Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby)
12 Riki Flutey (CA Brive)
11 Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
10 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins)
1 Tim Payne (London Wasps)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
4 Simon Shaw (London Wasps)
5 Steve Borthwick (Saracens, captain)
6 Joe Worsley (London Wasps)
7 Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers)
8 Nick Easter (Harlequins)

REPLACEMENTS

16 Steve Thompson (CA Brive)
17 David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
18 Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers)
19 James Haskell (Stade Francais)
20 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
21 Jonny Wilkinson (RC Toulon)
22 Mathew Tait (Sale Sharks)

Too Much of a Gamble?

Scotland v England, Six Nations, Saturday 13 March

Ben Foden, the in form Northampton full-back is apparently too big a risk for Martin Johnson.

Yes, good old Johnno has flicked the V's at his critics, laughed in the face of the pundits and ignored the calls to revamp his England team ahead of the Six Nations clash with Scotland this weekend.

Apparently Johnno doesn't want to get his hands on the World Cup again

Despite Foden's inspiring display off the bench against Ireland (which eclipsed dull Delon Armitage's efforts), Foden is not in the starting XV against Scotland.

With England's Grand Slam chance gone, why is Johnno still insisting on playing it so safe?

What about Courtney Lawes, Chris Ashton, Shontayne Hape, Steffon Armitage, Nick Kennedy and champagne swilling Chris Robshaw to name but a few?

Why aren't they being given a chance?

Even Lewis Moody has been relegated to the bench.  OK so after his great performances in the autumn Moody hasn't been as effective, but I can't help but wonder if his announcement about leaving Leicester had anything to do with his new role as a bench warmer.

Still, Leicester's Ben Youngs has made it into the 22 which is great news.  And fear not, rugby fans, Leicester's dynamo Louis Deacon is still in the starting XV.

Great.

Hang on.  What's that I hear you say?  Could Johnno be guilty of a Leicester bias?

Never.

The World Cup is approaching fast and Johnno's tediously conservative England are in danger of being so badly undercooked next year when they face Argentina on 10 September it's just not funny.

It really is time that the England coach took a gamble and backed some of England's young stars.

And I mean really back them, not just giving them five minutes at the end of the game

Oh and drop James "The Hask" Haskell.  Please.

Rugby League Magic

That's a bit of an odd title for a post on a rugby union blog you might think.

Well, Chris Ashton (ex-Wigan Warriors, now Northampton Saints wing) and Shontayne Hape (ex-Bradford Bulls, former New Zealand rugby league international, now Bath centre) are league to union converts who have both been named in Martin Johnson's Elite Player Squad this week. With their inclusion for the forthcoming Six Nations (and potentially the World Cup next year) I can't help but wonder if their background in the league version of the game has given them any sort of advantage over the purely union born and bred backs? It certainly seems that way, as Ashton's try scoring form this season has been nothing short of prolific and he is currently the top try scorer in the Guinness Premiership, and Hape has been turning heads at Bath with his strong and often scintillating displays at centre.

Ashton (top) and Hape: The new stars of England rugby?

My boyfriend is a massive Leeds Rhinos fan (although don't hold that against him) and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things rugby league.  If he doesn't know a fact about rugby league, it's probably because it's hasn't happened yet.  Therefore with Ashton and Hape making waves in the game, I decided to quiz him to try and find out what positive attributes ex-league players bring to the game of rugby union.  This is what he said:

Fitness, Strength and Speed
Rugby league is played at a much quicker pace than union.  The forwards are fitter, leaner and quicker and the backs are quicker still, with footwork that would make Brian O'Driscoll cry with envy.

Handling
League players are more adept at passing the ball into gaps and running into gaps rather than into the man and taking the ball into contact.  With their extra speed and quick hands comes a quicker and more free flowing game.

Support Play
It's no coincidence that Chris Ashton always seems to pop up on the shoulder of his team mates when they sprint up field.  If you watch any game of Super League you will see this all game long, and this attribute of his game is a something that has been drilled into him during his time at Wigan.

Defence
The physical conditioning of rugby league players (especially forwards) means often they tackle harder, and are then quicker to get back into the defensive line.  I can't imagine many Guinness Premiership forwards making a tackle, running back ten metres, making another tackle then running back ten (x another 4) over the course of eighty minutes without gasping for an oxygen mask.

It might work very well when a league star joins the back line of a union side, but what about the forwards?
I can't imagine that many rugby league forwards would successfully make the transition into a rugby union pack (Andy Farrell, anyone?).  After all, scrums in rugby league are just a group of blokes leaning on each other for five seconds and having a bit of a breather. 

Success Stories

The forwards aside, where the backline is concerned I think that rugby league players have the ability to inject a certain x-factor into the game.  Look at World Cup winner Jason Robinson for example.  He was excellent in both codes, playing rugby league for Wigan and Great Britain before changing to union when he joined Sale in 2000.  Robinson immediately made an impact and he played his first game for England in 2001 in the Six Nations game against Italy.  A try scoring performance in two of the Lions tests in the tour of hell to Australia later in that year, and that memorable try in the final of 2003's World Cup made Robinson the best cross code rugby player of all time.  Well, in my opinion anyway.

And here are a couple of others:
Lote Tuqiri - Tuqiri found success with the Brisbane Broncos and won recognition with Queensland in their victorious State of Origin campaign in 2001, along with international honours for the Wallabies before switching to the fifteen man game.  He won 67 test caps for Australia's rugby union side and found his way onto the scoresheet in 2003's rugby World Cup Final.  Tuqiri is now peddling his wares on the wing for Leicester Tigers and bagged a couple of tries against their arch rivals Wasps last weekend.

Jonathan Davies - No, not the young bloke who's playing for Wales at the moment.  I mean the other Jonathan Davies, the one who now plies his trade as a partisan commentator for the BBC.  Davies started off playing rugby union in 1982 for Neath before moving to Llanelli in 1988, in a year where he helped Wales scoop the then Five Nations Triple Crown before going on to captain his country on their tour to New Zealand.  Controversially, Davies then switched codes and moved to Widnes, and during his foray into rugby league he also played for Warrington and Australian sides Canterbury and Queensland.  Davies returned to the fifteen man game in 1995 where he picked up another hatful of Wales caps, and has been touted as the most talented rugby player of his generation.

Other successful cross-code players include Scott Gibbs, Brad Thorn, John Bentley, Alan Bateman, Alan Tait, Scott Quinell, Wendell Sailor, Dai Young and Sonny Bill Williams.

Tried but Failed

So it is possible to switch between codes and do it effectively, but these handful of players (along with a few others who I have no doubt forgotten) have to be contrasted with players who didn't make anywhere near as big an impact: Henry Paul (now at Leeds Carnegie) won only six caps for England; Lesley Vainikolo only got eight caps, as did rugby league hero Andy Farrell, whose massive move to Saracens didn't quite go according to plan.  Chev Walker and Karl Pryce both made the switch to union before skulking off back to the thirteen man game less than a year later.

Still, with ex-Leeds Rhinos and England international league star Lee Smith swelling the ranks with his move from the Rhinos to Wasps this season and with Worcester signing former Australia rugby league international Luke Rooney, are we seeing the start of another trend of league to union code switches, with players attracted by the higher earning potential that the union game can offer?  I don't really care if this is the case, as long at it benefits the game of rugby as a whole.

With all that said, I wonder how long it will be until we see more ex-league stars trotting out at Twickenham?  It's probably only a matter of time...  For now, let's keep our fingers crossed that Chris Ashton and Shontayne Hape will add themselves to the list of league to union success stories.