Ashman hails forwards and Dalziel after clinical hat-trick in Washington win

• 15 Jul 2024
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Edinburgh Rugby hooker Ewan Ashman deflected the praise after his dominant performance against the USA on Friday night, crediting the hard work of his fellow forwards and Scotland Forwards Coach John Dalziel for his hat-trick of tries in the 7-42 victory.

The win marked Scotland’s second dominant victory of their Americas Tour, with Ashman at the heart of the action. However, the 24-year-old hooker remained humble, highlighting the team effort behind his scores.

“All the credit really goes to the big boys up front pushing me over,” Ashman said. “I just have the easy job of holding on to the back and then celebrating or thanking the boys for pushing me over.”

He went on to praise forwards coach John Dalziel for the meticulous work put into the driving maul, a tactic that yielded all three of Ashman’s tries.

“And then credit to John Dalziel as well, a lot of work gone into them all,” Ashman remarked. “So, yes, good to get a bit of reward there.”

The wet and humid conditions in Washington D.C. presented a challenge for both sides, but Ashman highlighted Scotland’s pre-game focus on capitalising on their set-piece plays.

“It’s something that we said going into the game that we wanted to get some reward from, and we’ve really worked hard at training this week, which has been tough in the conditions and the heat,” Ashman explained. “So, no, buzzing to get three over, yes.”

While pleased with the win, Ashman acknowledged areas for improvement. “The game was scrappy, obviously,” he admitted.

“It was good to get the win, but a lot to learn from mainly. I think we’ll really benefit from the experience of that. And to be in this kind of heat and the sweat and the rain is only something that we can learn and grow from.”

He pointed to the challenging scrummaging conditions caused by the wet weather, but remained optimistic about Scotland’s ability to adapt.

“Yeah the conditions were tough, it made the scrum a bit of a tricky one as well,” Ashman said. “The ground’s going from underneath you. So, it’s something that we probably need to adapt to quicker. And again, we’ll learn and we’ll get better from that.”

Ashman also heaped praise on teammate Jamie Ritchie, who won his 50th cap in the victory. “Jamie Ritchie is an awesome boy,” Ashman enthused. “You know, every time you get to run out with that guy, he’s one of my favourite players to play against. He really gives you confidence. He’s a real warrior. So, I thoroughly deserve to get 50 caps.”

With two crucial matches against Chile and Uruguay remaining on the tour, Ashman looks ahead with determination.

“Yes, a huge two weeks coming up,” he said. “And hopefully we’ll get better performances in that and really build on that for Uruguay and Chile coming up.”