Even the snow had gone by the time Brian Ashton belatedly arrived at the Six Nations launch yesterday afternoon. All the other principal guests had long since departed the Hurlingham Club in west London but none had endured the logistical problems facing England's new head coach. Having spent less than two days on a training field with his players since taking the job, protocol is the least of Ashton's concerns.
Every second of preparation, clearly, is seen as crucial if England are to stop the rot which set in towards the end of Andy Robinson's regime. Eight defeats in nine Tests is a dodgy springboard into an intensely competitive tournament but it was worth the wait to hear Ashton lay out his no-nonsense manifesto yesterday. The former Bath coach has spent a lifetime dreaming of this opportunity and pussyfooting into the job is not his style.
And so, with Eddie O'Sullivan, Bernard Laporte, Gareth Jenkins, Frank Hadden and Pierre Berbizier safely out of earshot, lame platitudes were shoved firmly aside. England, more than likely, will start with Andy Farrell at inside centre, while Jonny Wilkinson appears closer to a Test comeback than people might think. The bedraggled white-shirted army of last autumn also have a fresh sense of purpose. "The phrase we've all been talking about is that we're going to play no-bullshit rugby this season," said Ashton flatly. "We've got to start from square one. We've lost eight out of nine games, we've had a massive reality check, we know where we are in world rugby and we've got to do something about it.
"The first step is to build our game from the foundations that all successful teams need. If we can do that I'm confident we've got the players in our squad to evolve our game from there. It's not the Brian Ashton show. This is playing the rugby the players want to play. We've all agreed on what we're going to do in the first game against Scotland."
The make-up of that starting XV will become clearer today when Ashton trims his initial squad of 33 to either 26 or 27. He says he already knows his ideal team but that could yet be affected by injuries this weekend. Farrell will not be playing for Saracens, for example, but at least half of the probable 22 are likely to be involved in some capacity, in contrast to many of their Six Nations opponents.
"In an ideal world you'd probably say 'Rest up for the weekend'," admitted Ashton. "But the other school of thought is that these guys stay battle-hardened. There are several players who are pretty keen to play this weekend." What is equally evident, though, is that victories by Leicester and Wasps in crunch games against top Irish and French opposition in the Heineken Cup have caused the other nations to look over their shoulders. No one quite knows how rapidly England will soar under Ashton, and two mediocre fourth-place finishes in the past two seasons may work in the 2003 world champions' favour.
"They'll be better than they have been, that's for certain," predicted Ireland's captain Brian O'Driscoll. "The players Brian Ashton picks have a lot to play for because they'll want to get into his good books immediately. That tends to bring out bigger performances."
Everyone else, though, seems to be tipping Ireland for the title, regardless of the fact that their only previous grand slam was in 1948. England's captain Phil Vickery, who insists his ankle is fine, was in no doubt. "In my mind the Irish have to be favourites," he said. Hadden, whose Scottish side kick off at Twickenham on Saturday week, is also looking across the Irish Sea. "There's no doubt Ireland are going to be the best-prepared team going into this Six Nations." Even the official guide tempts fate by proclaiming that "it is hard to see how Eddie O'Sullivan's team will not sweep all before them".
It was left to O'Driscoll to try to pour a bucket of cold Ballygowan on the feverish hype. "We've been favourites before and not won," cautioned the 2005 Lions captain. Almost as he spoke it emerged that two of O'Sullivan's hookers, Frankie Sheehan and Rory Best, are suffering from calf strains and his lock Malcolm O'Kelly is struggling with a knee problem. O'Sullivan, furthermore, is already wary - "Wales are sitting nicely in the background deflecting all the attention" - of being ambushed in Cardiff next week.
With France also troubled by injury and Italy running short of goalkickers, the mood of uncertainty seems to be common across Europe. The organisers are expecting record average attendances, with three stadia now capable of holding in excess of 80,000 fans. It is a perfect time for England to forget the past and rejoin the party.
