As England's wonder wing prepares to face France, The Guardian's Richard Williams is the latest to draw a comparison with dual-code great Jason Robinson.
"At 6ft and 14st 6lb, the 23-year-old Ashton is almost exactly the same height and weight as Sir Chris Hoy. Both men are formidable bundles of muscle but where the track cyclist concentrates those muscles in his powerful thighs, Ashton's most obviously pumped-up features are his shoulders and biceps. This is not how David Duckham or Rory Underwood presented themselves to the world. Although Ashton can turn on the afterburners, as an ecstatic Twickenham saw with his length-of-the-pitch try against Australia in November, there are many more dimensions to his game. Like Robinson, he has opened the eyes of his team-mates to new ways of damaging the opposition.
"The exception among his tries against Italy, and the one of which Ashton was proudest, came from a pick-and-go requiring quick wits and the sort of strength more readily associated with a flank forward. Once again, Ashton was demonstrating his marked disinclination to loiter on the periphery, waiting for the ball to arrive."
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