In terms of tries scored Strettle could only muster three in the league for Quins last season while Ashton forced his way to the front of the wingers’ queue after 23 tries in all competitions for Northampton.

But while 27-year-old Strettle has started the season with two tries in two games, he maintains finishing ability is not the be all and end all when it comes to international selection.

He said: “Chris is a great player and a fantastic try scorer which helps massively for England. As a winger your game is very much dictated by how your team is playing.

“Northampton have been playing well and with Ben Foden creating opportunities he has been finishing them.

“Even when things were not going well at Quins and I was not scoring a lot of tries, I still felt I was playing well.

“It is not simply a case of comparing a winger to a striker and to say my job is to score tries.

“Personally I am very happy to create a try for someone else as I am to score myself. If you can put your team in a position to exploit the opposition then that is just as important as finishing a move off.

“I have played in games where I thought I was brilliant but did not cross and then there have been games where I have got a hat-trick but was pretty mediocre.

“But scoring tries does make it easier to stake your claim for your country.

“I have had to be patient and one of the reasons I moved to Sarries was to put myself back in the reckoning.

“People knew what I could do at Quins but the challenge was to show I could do that in a new environment. “