Twickenham last night dismissed reports they had put Dean Richards, the Harlequins director of rugby, on standby to take over from the new national head coach Brian Ashton, should England flop in the Six Nations championship. The response was made to increasingly insistent suggestions yesterday to the effect that Richards would take England to the World Cup in France later this year should Ashton, who took over from Andy Robinson last month, fail to inspire England over the next three months.

Martyn Thomas, chairman of the Rugby Football Union's management board, rejected the claims. "Brian Ashton will be in charge of England at the next World Cup," he said. "His was the only name put forward to us by Rob Andrew (the RFU's elite rugby director) last month and the appointment was made unanimously. No mention was made of Dean Richards and we have not put anyone on standby, as we are confident that we already have the right man."

Richards, whose club would look for £450,000 compensation from the RFU, hardly endeared himself to the national set-up yesterday when he criticised Ashton's first squad selection.

"I was disappointed with a few notable omissions by Brian," he said. "As much as he is a quality player and a great guy, I am not sure why Mike Catt was recalled while the likes of Andy Gomarsall and Nick Easter, who are performing wonders for us, were ignored."

The London Irish centre Catt, who at 35 is the oldest player in the squad, said England had to make a fresh start in the Six Nations.

"It is up to the players to perform under the new regime," he said. "Brian has shaken up the squad and left a number of guys disappointed and it will be about taking responsibility for our displays. "

The Australia fullback Chris Latham, one of the few Wallabies to live up to his reputation during last autumn's European tour, has not given up hope of starting a Tri-Nations match this year despite suffering knee ligament damage training with Queensland Reds. Latham, who will miss the Super 14 series, expects to learn the precise extent of his injury this week.

Australia coach John Connolly attacked his Queensland counterpart and predecessor, Eddie Jones, for letting Latham take part in the training session immediately after the player had attended a three-day Wallaby camp.

Connolly's demand for a report from the Reds about how the injury occurred drew a sharp response from Jones: "Rugby is a physical sport and we did not have an edict from the Australian Rugby Union about Chris not training."

Meanwhile, the 57-year-old former South Africa wing Gerrie Germishuys was last night in a critical condition in hospital after being shot three times by intruders at his home in Johannesburg.

Guardian Service