Northampton Saints winger Chris Ashton believes there is no reason why England cannot win the 2011 World Cup.

England impressed on tour in Australia and New Zealand during the summer, with Ashton scoring a try in the 21-20 win against the Wallabies.

Ashton told BBC Look East: "We can build on that win and I don't see why we can't win the World Cup.

"We'll know a lot more in the autumn. You need to play against the top teams to see where you're at."

The 23-year-old was promoted to the England team during a prolific season for Northampton Saints, for whom he has scored 23 tries.

He is likely to retain his place in England's starting XV for the autumn internationals at Twickenham against New Zealand (6 November), Australia (13 November), Samoa (20 November) and South Africa (27 November).

"I want to get Northampton Saints to the top of the [Premiership] table and doing well in the Heineken Cup, and then get into autumn internationals with England and start every game," added Ashton.

"We've been together for a year or two, and now we can get onto the right run of form and build up to the World Cup."

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