Gongs for ousted England rugby coach, children's author

LONDON (AFP) - England's former rugby coach Brian Ashton was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday, after being axed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) last month.

Ashton, who led England to the Rugby World Cup final last year, was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

"This is very humbling, you look around the world of rugby and think there are a lot of people more qualified than me to get something like this," said Ashton, who was replaced by Martin Johnson.

"This is absolutely terrific to achieve something like this," he added.

Also honoured by the British monarch was top children's author Jacqueline Wilson, who was made a Dame for her services to literature.

The 62-year-old, most famous for her Tracy Beaker books about a streetwise girl growing up in a children's home, has sold more than 20 million books in the UK and had her stories translated into 34 languages.

"I'm quite astonished but delighted too. It's also very nice for children's literature to be noticed in this way," she said, adding: Dame is such a wonderfully old-fashioned and splendid title -- it seems highly appropriate."

• Email Story
• IM Story
• Printable View
• Blog This
• Post a Comment

Recommend this article

Sponsored Links

(What’s this?)