Marland Yarde selection over Chris Ashton wasn't tough call - Eddie Jones

England coach Eddie Jones admitted that the decision to pick Harlequins wing Marland Yarde over Saracens' Chris Ashton for the Australian tour was a straightforward one.

Ashton has been in prolific form for Saracens ever since his return from a 10-week ban for making contact with the eye of Ulster's Luke Marshall.

In the 2015-16 club appearances, Ashton has scored 11 tries from 13 games as compared to Yarde's three tries from 16 games. The 29-year-old's England record is also superior with 19 tries from 38 caps while Yarde has four tries in seven games for the red rose team.

Acknowledging the performances of Ashton in the 2015-16 season, Jones insisted Yarde's potential was the major factor behind his selection.

"It wasn't a tough call to make, it was an easy call to make. Ashton has done well, but there are parts of his game that he needs to work on," Jones said.

"Chris Ashton has finished at club level and done very well, while Marland has got a lot of growth in him.

"He's a young player, probably maybe got his first cap too early, maybe didn't realise how important it was to work hard. He is now working hard on his game and he is the sort of wing we want.

"I always go back to the New Zealand game that England nearly won in 2014 when Marland scored that try when he ran over the top of Richie McCaw.

"If a kid can do that, he's got potential, so I've had a special interest in him. He's an interesting boy he wants to portray that gangster image, but he is a hard-working player.

"He can do things in our team that will really add to us. He can become a really good all-round player.

"I'm not saying Ashton can't be that - he's a great finisher and has been unlucky - but I want a bit more than that."

Another decision that sprung a surprise was the exclusion of Saracens' Alex Goode, who is one of the top-performer for his club with 452 points from 145 games overall.

Goode was recently rewarded with the Premiership player of the season award, but Jones preferred to go with the experienced Harlequins fullback Mike Brown, despite his performances dipped in the second-half of the season.

Many experts, including former England coach Stuart Lancaster preferred to start with Goode but Jones expressed confidence over Brown's abilities.

When it was suggested Goode had been impressive, Jones replied: "You think so? Err… look… he's played okay. I didn't think he was great in the European Cup Final.

"I pick the side and pick it on what I need for the team, I don't pick it on popular demands. There is always a contest between Alex and Mike and that is still the case.

"Mike's form hasn't been great for Harlequins but Harlequins weren't great in the last six weeks of the season, were they?

"There were extenuating circumstances for that, so let's just see what he does for us."

Jones has also named four-uncapped players in the squad which includes Kyle Sinckler and Ellis Genge and the former Australian coach reasoned that their hunger for success will be a driving factor in the upcoming tour of Australia.

"Genge is a bit like Sinckler, both of them had difficult backgrounds and now they have a fantastic opportunity to make their mark in the world through rugby," Jones said.

"Players like that are desperate. There is a company I did a little bit with, a blue chip company.

"The CEO said that when he recruits people, the first thing he does is look for the people from a broken family because they are desperate to succeed and it's the same in sport.

"You want people who are desperate to succeed. It's got to mean something to them for whatever reason. That's what they have."