Try from the Archives: Chris Ashton scores one of Twickenham's greatest ever tries as Australia put to the sword

When England face Australia this weekend Chris Ashton will be around 650 miles away in the south of France, preparing for Toulon’s game with Racing 92.

The 30 year old last played for his country back in 2014, and it is highly unlikely he will ever do so again, having moved to Toulon from Saracens over the summer. If his international career is over he can look back on it with a mixture of pride - 19 tries in 39 internationals is a more than decent strike-rate - but also a sense of frustration, too.

Ashton’s was a career of boundless, unlimited potential that never quite reached fulfilment. At no time is that more obvious than when England host the Wallabies, because it was in this fixture seven years ago that Ashton scored a try which deserves consideration in any debate over the finest Twickenham has ever seen.

Those who were there claim the stadium actually shook during the celebrations, and that is borne out by the footage as the camera jerks up and down while 80,000 roar their approval.

It seemed at the time to be the moment a young side and a young coach found their feet, tearing Australia apart in a 35-18 victory that was illuminated by  Ashton’s stunning score.

It was made by two men who will start for England this weekend, Ben Youngs and Courtney Lawes. Both were aged just 21 at the time and they were typical of a feelgood factor around Martin Johnson’s team, with both having a desire to express themselves. An opportunity to do just that presented itself five minutes into the second half of the game against the Wallabies, with the score 19-6 to England.

After numerous phases on the English line Will Genia made a dart, only to be tackled and turned over by Tom Palmer. Youngs gathered the ball, shaped to kick and then saw Quade Cooper race up hoping for a charge-down.

"Sometimes in rugby your instincts take over and when Cooper overran me, I saw a gap and went for it,” Youngs told the Evening Standard at the time. “The coaches back you 100 per cent, which means you are ready to try something.

"If I had been caught and dragged over the line I'd have looked like a right idiot and I am sure Martin Johnson would have had a real go at me if I had messed up.”

Youngs didn’t, though, and shipped the ball on to Lawes. The lock drew his man and passed to Ashton. He can describe it from here.

“I didn’t know what was ahead of me,” he told the Telegraph. “I thought there was going to be a lot more.

“I remember seeing Drew Mitchell coming across so I tried to look as if I was heading straight up the touchline.But when I was getting towards halfway I thought I had better head inside as I thought someone would be coming up the middle.

“As I did step inside, I could see Drew had to stop on the turn. It was a moment that never normally happens - there would always be someone tracking back. As Drew tried to set off I knew I was round him and there was nobody ahead of me.

“I was just so happy to get to the try-line and get over: it was hard to take in what happened. It’s just so unusual for that to happen in rugby union. I was just over the moon.”

It was a genuinely stunning moment, capped off with the signature Ash Splash celebration, although his team-mates seemed more amused by Ashton's facial expression during his run before he caused the stadium to shake.

At that point in time the sky seemed the limit for Ashton and England. This was just his fifth international but he already seemed a once-in-a-generation type finisher. This impression was confirmed when he scored six tries in the opening two rounds of the following year’s Six Nations against Wales and Italy.

That, though, was to prove the high-point of his career. He scored six tries in games against Georgia, Romania and Scotland at the 2011 World Cup but somehow there was a feeling that his face didn’t quite fit. The brash celebration was not universally liked - indeed Ashton decided to stop doing it at international level after that World Cup - and there were defensive flaws in his game, while his move from Northampton to Saracens caused controversy.

He kept his place until 2014, before giving way to Jonny May and Jack Nowell, with Stuart Lancaster trusting their youth over Ashton’s experience. The decision did not cause a huge fuss, although there was a general feeling of sadness that it was necessary. That continued when Eddie Jones recalled Ashton, only for an incredibly harsh ban for gouging to scupper that prospect, too.

With Ashton unable to stake a claim May, Nowell, Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly cemented their positions in the England fold and so this summer Ashton left for France after a hugely successful spell at Allianz Park, an acknowledgement his England days were over. It is an unsatisfactory end to an international career that promised so much. Ashton was an expert at the art of scoring tries, and for England not to have got more out of him is as much a reflection of those in charge as the man himself, particularly when he was thriving for his club.

Still, there is no question Ashton has enough material from his England days for a memorable highlights reel. If the lasting memory of his time with a Red Rose on his chest is this brilliant try against Australia, then it’s not a bad one, after all.