'Desperate' Edinburgh taking lessons from Scotland Six Nations loss into Champions Cup clash with Leinster
Sean Everitt’s side head to Dublin this Sunday where their international players will come up against some familiar opponents
Edinburgh hooker Ewan Ashman expects a similar challenge from Leinster in their Champions Cup clash this weekend to the one he faced in Dublin just a few weeks ago.
The 25-year old, along with five of his club teammates, were part of the 23-man Scotland squad that saw their hopes of a first Triple Crown win since 1990 extinguished by Ireland. The 43-21 defeat also ended any hopes the Gregor Townsend’s side had of lifting the Six Nations trophy.
It was a bruising and demoralising day for the national team in the Irish capital but Ashman now hopes he can take some of the lessons they learned from that loss into this Sunday’s massive tie at the Aviva Stadium. It looks set to be a difficult task for Edinburgh as they come up against one of the tournament favourites away from home.
“We are pretty familiar with their players, the threats they have” - Edinburgh hooker Ashman looks ahead to Leinster clash
Speaking ahead of the match, the former Sale Sharks hooker said: “ It’s obviously a massive occasion. I played there a couple of weeks ago [with Scotland] and it’ll be nice to go back out there and hopefully get a better result than the last time, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“Obviously it will be similar players, a slightly different system although the game plan is a similar one and there are some similar systems there. We are pretty familiar with their players, the threats they have - for example Gibson-Park at nine - and the way they play. Hopefully it’s not a shock to us because we have seen it before a few weeks ago.
“Leinster are a great team and playing them at the Aviva, it doesn’t get much bigger in Europe. There’s no doubt about it, it’s a huge game for us.
“It’s going to be backs-against-the-wall stuff but I’m confident in the boys standing up, having a bit of edge about them and bringing the fight. I’m looking forward to it. We need to keep our season alive, it comes down to this and we need to fight for everything.”
Where can Edinburgh target Leinster as daunting Champions Cup task awaits against four time winners
Asked if Edinburgh needed a change of psychology, given how poorly Scottish teams have fared at the Aviva Stadium over the years, Ashman added: “We’re desperate now. The way we look at it, they’re expected to win, everybody has written us off and we need to go in without pressure on us and play our rugby - not go into our shell because we’re at the Aviva.
“You have to go out there and throw the first punch and try to impose yourself on them and throw the kitchen sink at it. That’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Leinster may be a formidable side but they are not invincible as Glasgow Warriors showed last month. Ashman’s old side stormed to a 38-17 win at Scotstoun in the URC and the forward is hoping Edinburgh can replicate their performance on Sunday.
“I’ve seen bits of it on the laptop,” he said. “It was a cracker and the physicality they brought was definitely a big key to their success.
“You have to have a bit of edge. Any time you go and play a top team in Europe, you have to have something about you. It was a fantastic win for Glasgow and hopefully we can replicate that.”
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