England rugby update

Eddie Jones to select England side for Autumn Internationals

Australian England National Team coach Eddie Jones got some good news ahead of the selection of his England side for the Autumn Internationals Test series with Gloucester wing Jonny May returning with full fitness after 10 months out due to a knee injury. Twenty-six year old May has not yet featured on any of Jones’s winning squads, having ruptured a knee ligament in a December Premiership match against Harlequins at Twickenham Stadium. May has returned to training and it is expected that the rugby player will be named to Jones’ squad announced on Friday. May is unlikely to feature for Gloucester until he is fully integrated back into the squad, which may mean his return to Premiership action by the end of October.

May required surgery as part of his rehabilitation and missed both the 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam winning campaign and England’s down-under tour series victory over Australia in June. May has scored 7 tries in 19 appearances for the England team since his international debut in 2012. May was named to Jones’s provisional 45-man training squad in August, although he was not able to play a full part in the four-day camp in London. His determination to make a total recovery from his knee injury saw him travel to the US for specialized rehab in Houston, Texas.

Hopefully May will be fit for the opening match of the Old Mutual Wealth series against South Africa on Nov 12, but he is almost certain to be ready to feature during the four-Test series, which finishes against Australia on Dec 3, 2016. May’s return is great news for Jones, who has seen Jack Clifford and Manu Tuilagi ruled out of the Autumn International series with respective ankle and groin injuries last week. Owen Farrell has yet to feature for Saracens in four Premiership matches after sustaining a back and hip injury, while Dylan Hartley has also been struggling with a back injury. Hartley is expected to return to action for Northampton against Exeter on Friday night, while Saracens lock George Kruis is due to return from a back injury for Saracens’ trip to Bristol.

Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the RFU, has rejected the idea that Twickenham Stadium match revenues should be shared with southern-hemisphere opponents. Ritchie suggested New Zealand and Australia “go build a stadium” if they want to increase their revenues. New Zealand and Australia have long complained that they suffer financially compared to the European titan rugby teams France and England. New Zealand insist the market value of the All Blacks may require a fee of up to £3 million be paid for rugby matches outside the traditional international window. Ritchie has left no doubt regarding the possibility of sharing the approximately £10 million from a Test at Twickenham.

“Of course they say they want more money, but there is nothing to stop Australia or New Zealand building a stadium,” said Ritchie. “Go build a stadium if you want to increase your revenue growth. We have all been through it here in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and ourselves, incurring debt on stadium build in order to reap the benefits. We didn’t get anything out of going to Australia in June. And ditto from the Lions. I can’t see the case for arguing the other way. Of course we should get a return on Twickenham from the money that the RFU has put in. We keep what we make to put back into the game. As for their lack of sustainability, I don’t see a lot of problems for them in terms of our difficulty in beating southern-hemisphere teams.”

Ritchie debunked any possibility of the game adopting a southern-hemisphere calendar as a solution to the complicated matter of a global season. “The southern hemisphere teams do not want to play in their summer and we don’t in ours,” said Ritchie. “The Six Nations and the Autumn Internationals are important bed-rocks, so we don’t anticipate change there. The focus of discussion is on the summer, although one year will be a Lions and another a World Cup. Discussions are ongoing.”

Twenty-nine-year-old Saracens wing Chris Ashton received a 13-week ban for biting Northampton prop Alex Waller. Ashton believes he was innocent and wants to win back his England place after a Rugby Football Union disciplinary last Tuesday found Ashton guilty of one of two charges of biting Waller during Saracens’ 27-12 victory over Northampton, ending any hopes of him featuring in England’s autumn Test series. Ashton won the last of his 39 caps for England in June 2014.

Chris Ashton received a 13-week ban for biting Waller, and will be free again on Dec 19, meaning he has no time to play his way into a spot for the elite Six Nations campaign.

Ashton had told the RFU panel composed of Philip Evans, Paula Carter and Tom Rees, that teeth marks on the arm of Waller had been a result of Waller’s arm having gone into his mouth. However the panel ruled Ashton’s bite was deliberate. The second citing was dismissed during the six-hour hearing. Ashton was previously banned for 10 weeks in January for making contact with the eye of Ulster center Luke Marshall during a Champions Cup match. After the decision, Ashton said he did not agree with either sanction but was prepared to move on. Saracens confirmed on Friday that they would not appeal against the judgment and ban.

“It would be an understatement to say I was disappointed last week to be handed a 13-week ban by the RFU, my second significant ban of 2016,” said Ashton. “I told the disciplinary panel that I did not bite the Northampton prop, just as I had told the panel in January that I did not make contact with the eyes of the Ulster center. Both panels chose to accept the opposing version of events. I did not agree with either verdict but I must, and do, accept the sanctions. There is no place for biting or gouging in rugby, and World Rugby are 100 per cent correct in seeking to eradicate these actions.”

“I would like to thank publicly Saracens for their support during these times, and I am wholly committed to repaying the faith of Nigel Wray, our chairman, and Mark McCall, our director of rugby, and all the other coaches, players and staff of this special organization. It may seem a long journey back, but I will do everything to get back to where I feel, in my heart, I belong,” continued Ashton. “My clear ambition is first to regain my place in the Saracens team and then to regain my place in the England side.” Buy the very best, authentic rugby union tickets to watch the England Rugby team in live action in the upcoming Autumn Internationals and Six Nations tournaments.