Brian Ashton was appointed England's rugby union head coach yesterday, taking over from Andy Robinson.
The 60-year-old Ashton will take over his coaching duties with immediate effect, the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) said in a statement.
His first game in charge will be the Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham on Feb. 3.
"It's a massive privilege and honor to be asked to do the job," Ashton said. "I recognize the challenges ahead of us and along with the other coaches my focus now is to prepare the England team to play Scotland."
Ashton was appointed England's attack coach in May and he will continue to work with forwards coach John Wells and defense coach Mike Ford the RFU statement said.
He would then have nine further games before England launch their World Cup defense against the US in Lens on Sept. 8.
Robinson was sacked last month after presiding over 13 defeats in the 22 internationals since he took over from his former boss, the World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward.
Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew, who recommended Ashton, said he was the most experienced coach in England.
"He has enormous respect with the players and he has massive international and club experience," Andrew said.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
RSS