Robshaw: Rugby shouldn’t start to panic about Ashton’s attack
ENGLAND captain Chris Robshaw hopes his fellow rugby players are not about to be frightened off from making public appearances after the winger Chris Ashton was glassed at the weekend.
The Saracens and England international was on a night out in London with his girlfriend when he was attacked by a stranger but Harlequins’ Robshaw believes that rugby’s relatively relaxed off-field approach and culture remains one of it’s greatest strengths as a game.
“What people love about rugby is that they can still see you after a game having a drink with some mates, or going out for dinner,” he said.
“That’s the beauty of the sport, that we are connected [with the public].
“It’s about finding the right balance – as soon as you lose that touch and isolate the players, it wouldn’t be great for the game.
“The amount of people who get pleasure from having the odd interaction with players far outweighs the odd bad incident.
“You don’t want to be locked away at home and told you can’t go out because someone might do something.”