Sorry about the wait since the last blog. After the World Cup I have been walking around like a zombie. What an amazing six weeks, but since then I don’t think I have made it past 9pm at night.

I am trying out a new font for the post-World Cup blog so I hope you like it. There will be more updates before during and after events like the Mayweather and Hatton fight in Las Vegas and the Dubai Sevens as the end of November. Then there is the RBS 6 Nations and even the Lions in South Africa in 2009 – so plenty to talk about.

For someone who was said to be like a rabbit caught in the headlights he did a good job getting a team labelled as a bunch of no-hopers within inches of winning a Rugby World Cup (maybe it was a try). I am sure there are coaches in Australia, New Zealand, Wales and Scotland who would have been prepared to be called any names if they got their team to a World Cup final. I suspect not many of them have had to put up with the sort of comments levelled at Ashton since the tournament.

Since the World Cup other than sleeping I have been doing a bit of catching up. I sorted out Ronnie and Matt Dawson to appear at a function for those nice people at Nationwide. I have also been putting the finishing touches to my new newspaper. It will be going out to my clients, but if you want a copy drop me a line with your name and address to info@vultd.co.uk

At last, my post Rugby World Cup blog. I needed a few days to recover after an incredible six weeks. Now it is a couple of weeks of unwinding before getting back  in a Bristol shirt for the Heineken Cup clash against Cardiff.

After Saturday’s defeat I feel disappointed but certainly not disgraced. We can take heart in the fact that we gave the final our very best shot. It came down to a few millimetres which meant a try was disallowed. That decision would have changed the whole game and I have not seen any conclusive evidence that it was not a try. However there are no bad feelings. South Africa are a great side who deserve to be crowned World Champions.

It was about the 79^th minute when I had to admit we were not going to do it. Our campaign has been built on belief, hard work and amazing team spirit. To fall at the last hurdle is not a nice feeling, but I really do feel proud about the way we turned it around.

After the game Wills and Harry popped in to say hello. I have met their Granny a couple of times and I asked them to tell her that I would not be popping around to her house this time because we had not won.

After the disappointment of picking up losers medals it was back to the bar in the hotel and then on to a nightclub. Considering we had lost the spirit (and spirits) was good. We had had the most amazing adventure and we wanted to finish it together by having a decent social. Jonny can no longer be called the Olympic Torch (he never goes out) as he joined us in the bar and then went on to the nightclub.

The RFU had splashed a bit of cash on a decent do. Just by looking at me you could tell it was a free bar because I was walking around with 10 bottles of beer. I usually only do that when Victor is paying.

On Sunday it was a bit of a painful head but then back in to Paris for a few more pints and a look at the F1 and football on the TV. I failed to catch up with Vic although I did hear he was feeling a bit tired the poor babs.

Being back home with the family I have had time to reflect – and fix my Jacuzzi which was not bubbling properly.

Firstly I can categorically say that I am not retiring from International rugby and am available for selection if required, quite simply I am still enjoying it so why would I choose to quit.  I retired once and did not particularly enjoy that so I am aiming to stick around this time if I am wanted. I might be 35 but I feel fit and healthy and ready for any new challenges there might be. There have been comments that the experienced heads should step aside for the youngsters, but I think a mix is important if the older ones are playing well enough. I think the younger guys really benefited from our experience, especially after such as poor start, and it would be good to keep a bit of that going. The 6 Nations is set up for a great contest. The Celtic nations will have something to prove, Italy are improving all the time and the French will be out for revenge.

I am also fully supportive of Brian Ashton and the rest of his coaching staff. You can’t argue with the fact that they did a fantastic job in this campaign. The clear-the-air meeting after the South African pool game was important and Brian really took a central role in that – his management skills were A1. He is the man who makes the decisions and he really got the squad to pull together. He has only been in the job for a few months and I think he should be given a run at it.

So it is now time to relax in the Jacuzzi and focus my efforts on Bristol’s campaign. Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and I hope to bring you more instalments soon.

I would put down tomorrow’s game as the biggest of my career. Despite last week’s performance I would say we were still underdogs. However, even though the French have got home advantage that brings with it extra pressure. As we do with all opponents we have spotted a few weaknesses but I am not going to let you know what those are the day before the game. It was hardly a secret last week that we knew the Aussies would struggle in the scrum but with the French it is not quite so obvious.

It is great to have an unchanged team, the first time for a long time. Fantastic for me to be starting again and I really can’t wait to get stuck into the game. This season it is 2-1 to the French so let’s see if we can even it up on Saturday night in Paris.

A lot of the publicity appears to be around Chabal and there is no doubt he is a good player. However all of us have come up against him both on the international circuit and in the league and we feel that we can more than match the danger. It is great for his profile to have long hair and a big beard. In fact I would consider growing my hair and facial hair if there was a contract on offer from a razor company. Around £1 million would do it for me.

The atmosphere is going to be fantastic and the noise will be amazing. I have heard that there will be as many as 40,000 English fans in the stadium which is going to mean a hell of a lot to us. I know we have got the performance inside us and we are just two games away from remaining World Champions.

I thought I would bore you today with a few things I do on the day of a game. I get up about 10am when it is an evening kick-off. Breakfast is the big meal of the day for me and is likely to be a bit of salmon some eggs and beans. I will then go and chill out for a bit in my room and maybe catch a DVD with The Dominator (see previous posts). There has been a lot of talk about the team listening to Kenny Rogers and a few have been singing his songs during training. However I build up to the game with a bit of gangster rap – as many of you will know I am a very ‘street’ person. I will nibble on a bit of pasta for lunch and then at about 6.30ish we will leave for the stadium. There will be a bit of work out on the pitch with Graham Rowntree our forwards coach, particularly on the lineout. Then it is into the changing room put on the England jersey and start to cherish the moment. I will try and get a bit more of my gangster rap going and then it is out onto the pitch. I am one for singing the National Anthem, although probably not in tune. I hope that gives you a little idea about what I will be up to tomorrow.

Vic has invited me over to join the VU lot for a bit of Sunday lunch so I probably will do that, as long as it is not burgers and chips – you can have too much of a good thing.