Posts Tagged ‘jason robinson’

Ex-rugby league duo get England call

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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

chrisashtonEngland have called up rugby league converts Chris Ashton and Shontayne Hape to their revised elite player squad for the forthcoming Six Nations.

Ashton has been in prolific form for Northampton and is the current top try scorer in the Guinness Premiership, while Hape has impressed at centre for Bath.

Hape, 28, represented New Zealand in rugby league but is eligible for England through the residency ruling, and will follow in the footsteps of former league Kiwi internationals Henry Paul and Lesley Vainikolo if he wins an England cap.

Ashton, 22, scored a record 41 tries in just 31 games for Northampton in his first season in rugby union having moved from Wigan, and initially found the step up to the top flight difficult last season.

Their inclusion continues a trend of ex-rugby league stars to feature in the Six Nations, with Andy Farrell, Jason Robinson, Paul and Vainikolo also making the step up in recent years.

Former Widnes half-back Stephen Myler also continues to impress for Northampton and England Saxons, while Chev Walker was also on the fringes of the England side a couple of seasons ago, before he returned to league with Hull KR.

Hape is a strong running centre who enjoyed a prolific try-scoring career in league, first with New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and then with Bradford Bulls, for whom he scored 85 tries in 136 appearances, often featuring inside former England international Vainikolo.

While with the Bulls, Hape won virtually every club honour in the game, including the Super League title, the Challenge Cup and the World Club Challenge.

Ashton turned professional with hometown club Wigan Warriors, and was handed the task of filling the boots of legendary full back Kris Radlinski. Despite being handed the number 1 shirt for 2007, he soon agreed a deal to switch codes, and Wigan released him from his contract early so he could complete the switch, for a reported £140,000 a year.

England begin their Six Nations campaign at Twickenham against Wales on February 6, before travelling to Rome to face Italy on Febuary 14. Ireland visit HQ on February 27 before the Calcutta Cup on March 13, and the final game, and potential title decider, against France in Paris on March 20.

Forwards: S Armitage (London Irish), S Borthwick (Saracens), J Crane (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins), S Hape (Bath), (D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Francais), C Lawes (Northampton), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), S Shaw (Wasps), A Sheridan (Sale), S Thompson (Brive), J White (Leicester), D Wilson (Bath).

Backs: D Armitage (London Irish), C Ashton (Northampton), M Banahan (Bath), D Care (Harlequins), M Cueto (Sale), H Ellis (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester), B Foden (Northampton), R Flutey (Brive), D Hipkiss (Leicester), P Hodgson (London Irish), U Monye (Harlequins), M Tait (Sale), J Wilkinson (Toulon).

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England World Cup win voted decade’s best sporting moment

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Saturday, December 26th, 2009

worldcup031England’s 2003 World Cup win over Australia has been voted the favourite British sporting moment of the decade.

Jonny Wilkinson’s extra time drop goal sealed the win after a dramatic encounter at Telstra Stadium, Sydney as England won 20-17 and wrote their names in to history.

Lote Tuqiri’s early try had given the hosts the advantage, but they were rocked back before the break with a try from Jason Robinson and three penalties by Wilkinson giving England a commanding 14-5 advantage. But Elton Flatley kicked three penalties, including one in the dying stages, to force extra time. Wilkinson and Flatley exchanged further penalties before the England number 10 put over his right-foot drop goal which has become an iconic sporting moment.

“I think it was the manner of the win which made it extra special. The last kick, the perfect move, the best player. It was the height of drama and summed up why we just love sport.” Rebecca Lowe

The World Cup win won the vote, conducted by ESPN, with 24%, ahead of England’s 2005 Ashes cricket triumph and the 2006 FA Cup Final.

As the curtain begins to fall on a decade of unforgettable moments in sports history, including the debut and final bows of some of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen, fans have had their say on what and who deserves to top two special sporting lists.

In a period that saw World Cup qualifying heroics, extraordinary feats from British Olympians and epic FA Cup encounters, a new ESPN Classic poll reveals England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup victory to be fans’ number one decade defining moment in the past ten years of British sport. With nearly a quarter of all votes on www.espnclassic.com (24%), Jonny Wilkinson’s cup winning kick down under against England’s Australian rivals was deemed to be the pinnacle of British sporting achievement, in a glittering decade of accomplishments.

In second place with another huge slice of the pie was England’s 2005 triumphant recapture of The Ashes after an 18 year absence, attracting a huge 19% of the vote. And in third place with 15%, proving that we’re a nation of football lovers at heart is the 2006 FA Cup final 3-3 goal-fest between Liverpool and West Ham, one of the greatest climaxes to the competition of all time. See below for the top five in full.

Fans will have the chance to relive all ten Magic Moments of the decade during a day of dedicated programming from 11.00am on Monday 28th December, only on ESPN Classic, Sky channel 429, Virgin Media channel 533.

MAGIC MOMENTS – TOP FIVE RESULTS
1. England win the 2003 Rugby World Cup    24%
2. England win the 2005 Ashes    19%
3. 2006 FA Cup Final – Liverpool v West Ham    15%
4. Arsenal 2 – 4 Manchester United, 2004/05 Premier League    13%
5. England beat Argentina in the 2002 World Cup    7%

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Shontayne will make Johnson Hape

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Friday, September 25th, 2009
Bath centre Shontayne Hape

Bath centre Shontayne Hape

England could have another dual-country cross-code international lining up for them in the Six Nations in the spring.

Former Bradford Bulls and New Zealand rugby league player Shontayne Hape qualifies to play for England through the three-year residency rule in January, and would fit in one of the Martin Johnson’s problem areas - centre.

Hape won 13 caps in the 13-man code for the Kiwis before joining Bath on a three-year deal in May 2008.

And now he’s been handed a creditable testimonial by Bath’s coach, Steve Meehan.

Meehan said: “It’s possible. Come January they get the opportunity to change the EPS squad, and come January Shontayne will be eligible to play for England.

“If his form leading into January and through January is at the top then we’d expect to see him there.

“He is a mature player with a lot of experience and wouldn’t suffer from the same sort of bright lights that have got some of the younger guys in the past.”

Dual-code internationals have had mixed success in the England team. The most obvious example is that of Jason Robinson, a massive success in both sports, who scored England’s try in the 2003 World Cup Final.

However, failures such as the big-money transfer of Andrew Farrell from Wigan leave the cross-code argument up for debate. Of course England aren’t the only nation to experiment with this - players such as Iestyn Harris (Wales), Mat Rogers and Wendell Sailor (Australia) have all switched from the 13-man code to union (and back again) with varied success.

Hape would follow an increasingly long line of former Kiwi, and Bradford Bulls, stars in making an appearance for England - Gloucester winger Lesley Vainikolo and current Leeds Carnegie inside centre Henry Paul.

With injuries hampering the progress of Riki Flutey, Hape might well be the man to call in the new year as England look to improve on last season’s second place in the Six Nations.

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