‘Super proud’ Ritchie reflects on memorable 50th cap

The win against the USA in Washington DC on Friday night capped a perfect 2-from-2 Skyscanner Americas tour for Gregor Townsend’s men so far, but for Ritchie, the personal achievement held immense significance.

“Yeah, I’m super proud,” Ritchie said. “It’s not just about today, it’s about the 49 before it. As a kid, all I ever wanted to do was play for Scotland and to be able to say I’ve done it 50 times is amazing.”

The special occasion wasn’t just celebrated on the pitch. Ritchie’s wife surprised him with her presence in the stands, making the moment even more heartwarming.

“Yeah, my wife, she actually surprised me yesterday, I didn’t know she was coming. And so yeah, that was really special. Like she’s been by my side the whole way. So yeah, I love that she could be here to enjoy it with me,” he shared.

Shifting focus to the game itself, Ritchie praised his team’s performance, particularly their ability to adapt and maintain pressure.

“Yeah, I thought we talked about sticking to things that were working. So obviously, like our maul was going well, so it was good to get some change out of that,” he explained.

He acknowledged the challenging weather conditions: “A little bit scrappy just with the nature of the weather. It was really wet out there, really, really, really scrappy. So proud of how we kept our foot down.”

The USA did test the Scots, but Ritchie highlighted their resilience: “They put us under pressure at times, but we weathered it quite well.”

With a touch of humour, he also commented on teammate Ewan Ashman’s impressive hat-trick: “Oh, I don’t know. The maul was going well and he’s a hooker, so it seems to be all the hookers are scoring all the tries now. So yeah, it was awesome for him.”

Finally, Ritchie couldn’t help but mention the electric atmosphere created by both sets of fans.

“Yeah, I love it. It was a really special atmosphere today and we loved how loud the Scots fans were and how loud the USA fans were as well.

“Yeah, it was a really great atmosphere and yeah, really cool,” he concluded.