Sanderson annoyed by Ashman’s move north
ALEX Sanderson is unhappy with the departure of Ewan Ashman to Edinburgh next season, adamant the hooker would be better off staying at Sale.
The 23-year old Ashman, who joined Sale’s academy in 2017, had two years left on his contract, but the Scottish Rugby Union agreed to pay it off to get the forward playing north of the border.
“Ewan is one of our own,” said Sanderson, the Sharks’ director of rugby. “We brought him through and I feel a little bit bitter that he is going.
“He wants to play for Scotland and the Lions and believes he is taking the best route to achieve that. I found out around Christmas that could happen and knew he was unhappy at his gametime here with Akker van der Merwe playing so well.
“He accepted Akker was in good form and wondered why he was not playing for South Africa. He felt he would not get picked by Scotland playing second fiddle here.
“I told him that Akker was a better scrummager and that his darts were also better. The message was that if he got to that level he would have equal rotation.
“He got that and played in the Champions Cup but it was not enough. He had probably already made his decision. I understand his reasons but I am gutted. I just hope he has not been coerced by misinformation that Edinburgh is where he should be because I do not believe it is.”
Ashman has made seven Premiership starts this season and come off the bench in nine matches. He was involved in four of Sale’s five Champions Cup matches, starting in Ulster.
Born in Canada, he qualifies for Scotland through his Edinburgh-born father. He made his Scotland debut off the bench against Australia in 2021, scoring a try in the 15-13 victory at Murrayfield, and made his Six Nations bow in the final match of this year’s tournament against Italy, his seventh cap.
Huw Jones and Sam Skinner are examples of players who have recently made the move from the Premiership to Scotland and saw it pay off. Sale could have kept hold of Ashman, but opted not to stand in his way.
“A contract is a commitment, your word on paper,” said Sanderson. “I still had a year left on my contract with Saracens when I came here as director of rugby. I felt the reasons were right to make the move and I went with heir blessing.
“I was the same with Faf de Klerk when he moved to Japan last year and Chris Ashton when I was at Saracens and he joined Toulon. There are always exceptions to the contract rule.”
When he signed for Edinburgh earlier this month, days after his birthday, Ashman said: “I am buzzing to be joining Edinburgh, a team I have always supported. As a city, it has always felt like home and I cannot wait to move back having had a short stint on loan there when I was younger.”