Chris Ashton says that, along with the rest of new England rugby union, he is dedicated to creating a new image. His challenge, he says, is giving the people a more accurate perception of himself.

Hopefully, this will involve more than a bout of public relations and a few self-serving platitudes, at which in recent times he has shown a lamentably clumsy touch.

Vital, you have to think, is the end of the juvenile try celebrations and generally more mature behaviour on and off the pitch. This, he should understand, is not a matter of showing his best side but something much more fundamental to the growth of a world-class sportsman. Most of all it is about understanding who you are and the responsibilities that come with it. Put another way, it is growing up.