Chris Ashton has said it was "easily the hardest decision" he has made after choosing to leave Saracens at the end of this season to join Toulon .
With Eddie Jones to name his England squad for the autumn internationals on Wednesday, the former England winger has decided to ply his trade in France next season, in effect ruling himself out of the national side. England will pick only overseas-based players in exceptional circumstances, so the move is likely to prevent him from adding to his 39 caps.
“I will leave one of the greatest rugby clubs in the world at the end of this season,” Ashton wrote on Twitter. “This was easily the hardest decision I have had to make (and I’ve made a few). I feel the experience and opportunity to play in France was too good to turn down.”
Ashton has spent five seasons at Saracens, becoming the club’s leading try scorer and winning two Premiership titles and a European Champions Cup. The 29-year-old is said to have grown disillusioned with the Premiership after falling foul of the game’s disciplinary process and Saracens granted his request to be released early from his contract.
He served a 10-week suspension for raking his hand over the face of Ulster's Luke Marshall earlier this year, preventing him from taking up his place in England's Six Nations squad, before being given a second lengthy ban last month. In both instances, Ashton felt he was harshly treated.
Ashton had 18 months to run on his contract and has agreed to join Toulon until 2020 to follow a path into the Top 14 taken by his former Saracens team-mate and wing David Strettle.
He returns from his latest disciplinary lapse on December 19th and knows that, had he avoided the ban, he would have been in contention for England's autumn campaign following injuries to rivals Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell.
"I'd like to put on record my thanks to Mark McCall [the director of rugby], Nigel Wray and the whole team at Saracens for the manner in which they have dealt with my request to join Toulon next season," he said. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Allianz Park and I have made so many special memories on and off the field.
“I have developed as a player during my time with Sarries but more importantly I have developed as a person and I will always be indebted to the club for that.
“There is a tremendous culture at Saracens and the bond between everyone here is very tight. It will be a real wrench for me to leave all that behind at the end of the season but I’m looking forward to a new challenge at Toulon next year. My focus now is helping the squad prepare for Leicester Tigers on Saturday, contribute to the side when I return to action later this year and hopefully make a few more memories together in a black and red shirt.”
Mark McCall said: “We would like to thank Chris for his contribution to Saracens over the last five seasons and the role he played in helping us create some incredible memories during that period. Chris will still have an important role to play this season and we’ll look forward to seeing him back in action after his suspension.”
(Guardian service)
