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Try record beckons for Ashton

Auckland - England fullback Ben Foden backed flying wing Chris Ashton to break the Rugby World Cup try-scoring record after he hit the top of the standings with five tries in just two games.

Foden said Ashton was "hungry enough and greedy enough" to surpass the record of eight tries in a World Cup held by New Zealand great Jonah Lomu (1999) and South Africa's Bryan Habana (2007).

"I'm pretty sure that he's got it in him. He's definitely hungry enough and greedy enough, definitely. He loves all that stuff it will just gee him on even more and hopefully that will be a good thing for us," Foden said.

Ashton, famous for his flamboyant 'Ash Splash' try-scoring dive, broke a lean spell with two scores against Georgia and powered over for a hat-trick against Romania, raising hopes he will also be on target against Scotland on Saturday.

"Ashy's always keen to score tries and if he's not he'll always come up with some excuse," Foden said.

"I expect to see him score a few more tries. He's always hungry to do it, he's got a terrific work-rate and the type of player he is, he doesn't shy away from any occasion so hopefully we'll be seeing a few 'Ash Splashes' come the weekend."

But Foden said Ashton and Mark Cueto, who also got three against Romania, were the beneficiaries of a more controlled and structured attacking play from England who were greatly encouraged by the quality of their 67-3 win last weekend.

"We know that things step up a notch from here on but the main thing for us is getting into our pattern and stretching teams and creating holes, and not forcing the ball," Foden said.

"We saw when we played against Georgia it was very sloppy and the tries we scored weren't very structured or created, it was just from individual brilliance rather than team work-rate.

"The difference with Romania was we were able to choose and pick, and tries seemed to come a lot easier because we did that. We stretched teams and worked them round the corner and that's the kind of rugby we want to be playing."

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