Ashton: Forwards were 'outstanding'

Ashton had been anxious to see how his side reacted to the pressure of playing for their World Cup places - and was delighted by the response.

"I was pretty pleased with the performance," said Ashton. "Nick Easter scored four tries which is some sort of a record. Nick did well on the back of an outstanding pack performance."

He added: "We showed a bit of balance to our game. We drove the ball well, we ran the ball well in the first half and our kicking game came into play with the last two tries.

"That last try (scored by Mathew Tait after Jonny Wilkinson had spotted Wales had no full-back in place and chipped forward) was one of the most intelligent pieces of kicking rugby I have seen from England in a long time."

Scrum-half Shaun Perry, who was told to lose weight by Ashton over the summer, marked his return to the England side with a try and man-of-the-match performance.

And with World Cup places on the line, Ashton was also delighted with the performances of Andy Farrell and Dan Hipkiss in midfield.

"He did well given where he was. He has worked incredibly hard after a pretty informal chat in South Africa about his body shape. He looks a better player for it," said Ashton.

"That was the best game Andy Farrell has played in an England shirt without a shadow of a doubt.

"And I thought Danny did some good stuff. He didn't look out of place, he didn't look phased at all."