Shane Williams’ column: Chris Ashton will lift England but Wales won’t be worried

Stuart Lancaster’s die is cast, but this Dai certainly isn’t downcast! England‘s 50-man squad won’t hold many fears for Warren Gatland and his Welsh players. There is little or nothing out of the ordinary in there, although I wholeheartedly applaud the return of Chris Ashton. He is one of the few players who I can see adding something different to England at the World Cup. Other than that it is pretty much the same old faces he has turned out against Wales in the past few years.
The non-selection of Steffon Armitage and Nick Abendanon is good for Wales, while Sam Burgess and Maro Itoje might add some freshness to the group. But England have chosen a squad that Wales will know they have beaten in the past – and can do so at Twickenham on September 26! I’m sure that when Warren cast his eye over the list his first thought will have been: “We can beat that lot.”
The selection of Ashton after an outstanding season with Saracens is a good move by Lancaster. I’m a big fan of his and, when he concentrates fully on his rugby, he is a very good player. He is intelligent, quick and loves nothing better than scoring tries. When he goes looking for work he can be really dangerous and he has obviously worked hard on the defensive side of his game.
It is going to be vital at this World Cup for teams to bring something new. Playing the same way as they did at the Six Nations earlier in the year is not going to win the tournament for Ireland, England or Wales. Tactics will play a massive part at the tournament and Warren has proved himself to be a master of that side of things in the past.
The question I would pose is can Lancaster get his side to play any differently? If not, they aren’t going to win the World Cup!
Back in Australia in 2003, we changed things dramatically under Steve Hansen and came close to causing two of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. We ran in four tries against the All Blacks in a 53-37 defeat and then gave Martin Johnson’s side a real fright in the quarter-finals before going down 28-17. We had beaten Canada, Tonga and Italy up to that point, but hadn’t pulled up many trees.
So we decided to use our game breakers as much as possible and to spread the ball wider. It worked pretty well and we pushed two of the best teams in the world all the way. Martin Johnson’s England were structurally very sound, but we found a way to upset their routine. We went out to express ourselves and we pushed them to breaking point. Unfortunately, Mike Catt‘s pinpoint kicking held them together and gave them the territorial dominance they needed to stay on course to win the Webb Ellis Trophy.
There are a few players in the current England squad that would have enhanced the 2003 team, but when I look at the likely side that will face Wales at Twickenham in four months’ time I don’t see players with the experience and influence of a Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio or Jonny Wilkinson. The other thing the Class of 2003 had over the current group is a wealth of World Cup experience. That will count for something this year and Wales have it in abundance.
Gatland’s initial World Cup squad will be named on June 8 and is likely to be around 45 or 46-strong. Will there be many surprises? Probably not, but I expect to see Exeter Chiefs tighthead prop Tomas Francis in the mix along with some of the young tyros from the Dragons – Tom Prydie, Hallam Amos, Tyler Morgan and James Thomas.