Centre Elliot Daly also grabbed four tries in the 11-try 74-3 victory to heighten hopes of an English Under-20 Grand Slam.

A good week for Short got better as he signed a new two-year contract at Sixways but he is determined not to rest on his laurels.

“It just opened up for me,” he said.

“The pitch was quite soft so I just made a dive for it. It wasn’t quite as spectacular as Ashton’s but I’ll take the comparisons if it means scoring four tries every week!

“I’m over the moon to get four. It’s the most I’ve ever scored in a match – I normally play centre but I’m getting a taste for being out on the wing now.

“Our preparation for the Italy game was spot on. We all put a lot of hard work in during the week and we took that into the game.

“We were accurate and absolutely nailed it, everything that we’ve been working on in training came off for us

“We’re just taking it one game at a time. It’s a cliché, but the moment anybody’s focus moves beyond the next match is the moment you’ve lost it.”