Family keeps Ritchie smart
Being a dad helps Edinburgh star
Edinburgh and Scotland flanker Jamie ritchie has an old head on young shoulders. As a father of two, the 22-year-old has had to grow up quickly and is more likely to spend his evenings changing nappies than enjoying the nightlife of Scotland’s capital.
he made his first start for Edinburgh four years ago on the same day his first child Oscar was born back in 2014. his second child, Ava, was born earlier this year.
Enjoying a wholesome family life has its benefits for a rugby player, especially at Edinburgh, where Magnus bradbury was stripped of the captaincy last season after a drunken night out with some of his team-mates.
‘i certainly don’t go out as much as the other guys,’ said ritchie, who is in the Edinburgh squad to take on Connacht at Murrayfield tomorrow evening.
‘My first start for Edinburgh was the same day as my son was born. Ava was born in January and is almost eight months.
‘hopefully, i have matured more on the pitch as well as off it since i made my Edinburgh debut.
‘it is a busy household for me and my wife. it is a great thing to have the kids always happy to see me when i get home. no matter how rubbish a day i have had, it is lovely to get a cuddle off someone.’
A cuddle is something that ritchie is never likely to get from Edinburgh head coach richard Cockerill but he has flourished on his watch.
After a fine first season working under the Englishman, he won his first Scotland caps against Canada and Argentina on the summer tour.
he returned to Edinburgh far more confident and has emerged as one of their most important players this season.
‘Winning my Scotland caps in the summer has helped me a lot,’ said ritchie (below). ‘it was a thrill and an honour.
‘hopefully, the opposition look at me differently and realise i am a different level now and can cope with the big games.’ ritchie played his 50th game for the club last weekend against ulster.
‘This is my fifth season,’ said the former Scotland under-20 captain. ‘i made my debut against Leinster in 2014. ‘it doesn’t feel like 50 games later. They have flown by. ‘it is great getting to such a milestone now and, hopefully, i can now look forward to the next 50.’
Edinburgh lost their first two games away to Ospreys and ulster by slender margins but ritchie does not believe back-to-back defeats is a reason to press the panic button.
he points to the fact that the club made a dreadful start to last season, yet still managed to finish third in their Conference table and qualified for the Pro14 play-offs before losing to Munster in the quarter-finals.
‘We look more inward when we lose, so we should improve against Connacht,’ said the openside flanker. ‘if we perform to our potential, we should win.’
ritchie’s optimism is partly based on the steel and extra mental strength that Cockerill has brought to the team, something lacking under his predecessor Alan Solomons.
‘We have a hard edge, which we probably lacked before Cockers arrived,’ said ritchie. ‘We have now built up a reputation of being a team that is hard to beat under him.
‘When i first started with Edinburgh, we were quite happy with being a hard team to beat but seemed to find we were still on the wrong end of a result. That has changed and now we are only happy with a win.
‘Obviously, nobody likes to lose but since Cockers arrived we have gained some respect and have been winning.’