Chris Ashton to play full-back at Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks new signing Chris Ashton has revealed that he is set to play fullback for his new side during the 2018/19 season. 

England head coach handed the try-scoring machine a recall and claimed that wing was the former Saracens and Toulon flyers' best position. Ashton does not believe swapping between the two positions will be a problem but the contrasting views of club and country further highlight the limitations of the English structure.

Ashton spent large spells of his season with Toulon at full-back and Jones said "I don’t think full-back is his best position, I think wing is his best position”. With Marland Yarde and Denny Solomona already among the wingers at Sale, however, Ashton expects to wear the No 15 jersey for most of the coming campaign."

“I have heard Eddie said [he sees me as a wing],” Ashton said. “I will more than likely fit in at full-back at Sale. I honestly don’t mind. I enjoyed my time at full-back at Toulon. It gave me more opportunities but I played full‑back like a winger. On many occasions, I swapped positions and stood on the wing.”

Jones said last week: “We can have discussions about what position a player should play but the coaches get paid to make their clubs win. It’s not like the provinces in New Zealand or Australia or South Africa where they have a responsibility to the national team.”

Ashton, meanwhile, believes he returns to England an improved player after scoring 24 tries in the Top 14 to set a French domestic record. “I am a better person and player for experiencing it. Without winning a trophy it went as well as it could have done and it filled me the confidence again. But as the year went on the more I realised I didn’t want the chance of being involved with England, with a World Cup around the corner, to go amiss.”

Full Story via: The Guardian