SL before him wouldn't touch Cipps or Wade with barge poll and B Ashton wasn't much better
Cips went to Australia for some of Lancaster?s time in charge & then was only playing OK at Sale, not setting the world alight.
He did actually pick Wade in 2013 (I think) but he was injured & someone else took his place.
Brian Ashton was probably the only England coach to have intelligent thoughts about attack, rather than focussing on set piece & defence. It didn?t always work, external pressure made his time in charge difficult, but Cips (IIRC) was close to Ashton & rated him as a coach.
As for not trusting Mavericks. With the exception of France & Scotland currently, which international team embrace mavericks? Ireland, NZ, Aus, SA, Wales as well as England don?t.
If Scotland or France do well at the upcoming RWC, maybe we?ll see a shift from defence to attack being the focus? We can hope!!