Lancaster wants hungry Ashton

Chris Ashton will be desperate to inflict more misery on Australia after being forced to watch Charlie Sharples shine for England in his self-inflicted absence.

That is the view of England head coach Stuart Lancaster, who has been left with a selection poser after Sharples took his opportunity against Fiji with two tries in a 54-12 victory on Saturday. England scored seven touchdowns in total but Ashton missed out because he was suspended, having collected three yellow cards for dangerous play.

"Chris was desperately disappointed to miss this game (against Fiji)," Lancaster said. "He likes scoring tries and, if anything, this will fuel his hunger and desire to get back into the side. It was a tough lesson to learn."

He added: "We all know the quality of Chris Ashton. He has been one of the in-form players, both in the Premiership this season and since I have been involved with England.

"(Australia) are a top-three side and we recognise the quality of players we will need to beat them."

Ashton was warned to work on his tackling technique by the disciplinary officials who banned him, which he has done with England coach Andy Farrell.

Lancaster has also spoken to him about the need for self-control and discipline. Two of the yellow cards were for late charges and one for a dangerous tackle.

But neither of those issues will count against Ashton's selection to face the Wallabies, against whom he scored one of the great Twickenham tries in 2010.

"He has done some work on this with Andy. We know his quality, he tracks the ball well and he is a great finisher. We don't ignore what he has done in the past," Lancaster said.