By Ben Sportsbeat
August 4 2013

After being handed the summer off by England head coach Stuart Lancaster, Saracens wing Chris Ashton admits his J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series run out was all about reminding everyone of his talents.

 

Chris Ashton - All Pictures Empics

 While the likes of Christian Wade and Marland Yarde were running out for the Lions and England this summer, Ashton was rested by Lancaster as the Red Rose headed to Argentina and reduced to a watching brief from his sofa.

But despite the extra time away from the field, as well as facing criticism from some quarters during the Six Nations, Ashton was retained in Lancaster ’s England squad announced on Thursday.

Ashton returned to competitive action at Allianz Park Saturday night as he helped Saracens ease into Friday's J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series Finals at the Rec – where they will face Harlequins, Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Falcons, Gloucester and Worcester for the title.

And while admitting the experience was to mostly prepare him for the fast-approaching Aviva Premiership season, Ashton was adamant the chance to show he means business for Sarries and England again was never far from his mind.

“The time of the year with the Premiership just a few weeks away I thought I might as well do the 7s and have a run around and get some proper contact in and score some tries,” he said.

“I had the chance to get involved and I just wanted to come and play and see what it was like.

“They asked me if I wanted to play and I said yes straight away I w anted to get involved and you might as well get used to contact soon as possible.

“It was hard to sit at home and watch them [ England ] play but I was glad to see them do well and we have not had many wingers for the past few years and guys like Mike Brown have had to play there when he is a full-back so it is good for the whole squad.

“Every year catches up on you a bit. Don’t get me wrong I would have liked to have been out there in Argentina still but it is good to let your body rest up and I am raring to go now.”

Tom Varndell

While Ashton was celebrating an England call and 7s success it was a different story for Tom Varndell, last season’s joint-top Premiership try scorer was again ignored by England while Wasps failed to win any of their J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s games at Allianz Park .

But the wing insists the trip to Saracens was far from a wasted one as he bids to repeat his try-scoring form this campaign.

“It is a fun tournament and a great chance for the young lads to run around and show everybody what they can do,” Varndell added.

“And it is good for us older boys to get out there too, get some match fitness and see where we are ahead of the Premiership.

“It is shame we couldn’t give a better account of ourselves but I just think a lot of us hadn’t played 7s for a while and it is time to move on and focus on the XVs game.”

For tickets to the J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby Series Final at 7pm on Friday, 9 August at The Rec,  Bath  visit: bathrugby.com/tickets