The 23-year-old – who had a short spell on loan at Edinburgh in 2019 – has so far earned seven caps for Scotland since making his international debut in 2021, scoring at the corner in acrobatic fashion to help secure a famous 15-13 win over Australia at BT Murrayfield Stadium.

A rising star for Premiership high-flyers Sharks, Ashman also excelled at age-grade level for Scotland – scoring 10 tries in 15 matches at U20 level – while the hooker has made over 50 appearances at senior level for the Greater Manchester club.

Born in Toronto, Canada, Ashman qualifies for Scotland through his Edinburgh-born father. He came through the ranks at Cheshire’s Sandbach RUFC and played both centre and back-row prior to switching to hooker in 2016.

He represented Scotland throughout the age-grades at U16, U17 and U19 levels before graduating to U20, where he showcased his prolific try-scoring record – with seven tries in five games – and finished as the top try-scorer at the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Argentina.

The hooker’s try-scoring form continued in the U20 Six Nations Championship, finishing as the tournament’s top try scorer as Scotland recorded a second-place finish in a Covid-19 curtailed campaign.

Back with Sale Sharks, Ashman made his Premiership debut from the bench against Leicester Tigers in September 2020, while he was part of the squad that lifted the Premiership Rugby Cup trophy that same campaign, with a 27-19 win against Harlequins.

After featuring in 11 matches across the 2020/21 season, Ashman enjoyed a breakout campaign with Sale Sharks in the 2021/22 season – scoring eight tries in 18 appearances – while he announced his arrival on the international stage in style against the Wallabies.

Ashman’s spectacular rise for both club and country continued this current campaign and has seen him score six tries in 22 matches, the most recent of which came in Saturday’s Challenge Cup Round of 16 defeat to Cardiff Rugby.

The Scotland hooker enjoyed a prolific first campaign in the capital, scoring seven tries including a dramatic last minute winner in his debut against the Emirates Lions.