ADAM HAS REAPED BENEFITS OF REGULAR GAMES
Adam Ashe was given the day off when Glasgow played Lyon yesterday, writes ALAN SHAW.
It was a rare rest for the big back row who, after a couple of stop-start seasons, has become used to playing week in, week out again.
And that run of games has, in turn, brought out the best in the 25-year-old.
“I’ve had quite a few starts over the last five or six weeks, which is nice to build some consistency,” nods Ashe.
“The body’s feeling good and I’ve been really pleased with how we’ve shown up. Obviously, the team has played particularly well, and I think that helps the individual as well.
“It’s nice to get backed by the coach and get regular game time. Dave Rennie’s someone who encourages us to go out there and express ourselves and play our own game.”
With Matt Fagerson often filling the No.8 jersey this year, Rennie’s backed Ashe to do a job on the blindside flank. But the switch hasn’t stopped him rattling in five tries, making him Glasgow’s joint-top scorer alongside Niko Matawalu until yesterday.
“Really? Two or three of those have been from a couple of metres out, just dotting over the line. But you’ve got to get yourself into the right position.
“And I think, again, that comes from regular game time – you know what position to get yourself into, where teams potentially have weaknesses.”
Ashe, who won the last of his six caps three years ago, couldn’t have picked a better time to be scoring tries and calling attention to his fine form.
“It’s been a few years and it’d be nice to get back in a Scotland shirt,” he says. “But as a player it’s really easy to get caught up in that stuff that might happen in the future at some point.
“Turning up and doing your thing for the team and enjoying yourself, expressing yourself on the pitch, that’s all you can do. The rest is up to other people.
As for the 1872 Cup, he says: “It’s always a hard, physical game and the back row is obviously a strength of theirs, so we’re going to have to match or try and do better than them there which is going to be tough.”