England winger Chris Ashton has revealed that he is to "tone down" his famed swallow-dive celebration ahead of this year's Six Nations.

The Northampton Saints player, who will turn out for Saracens next season, has been criticised for his exuberant dive over the try line.

"The diving and that kind of thing could have been different and I probably would tone it right down," he told The Guardian. "I realise now there's a time and place for that, and it's not when you're winning by 50 points.

"Sometimes in those games in the World Cup, I got carried away with the moment and what the situation was. We weren't playing too well and it probably wasn't the best time to be doing it.

"Maybe I got a little bit lost in not seeing it from other people's point of view: how it would look if you weren't actually out there playing? The dive was just something I did to celebrate scoring, it wasn't a case of: 'I'll do this to make some money out of it.'"

England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.