Ewan Ashman insists there is “a lot” Edinburgh can improve on despite a six-try bonus point win over Zebre on Friday night.  

The Scotland hooker scored a first half double – both from dominant mauls inside the Italian side’s 22 – as Edinburgh took a 12-point lead at the interval.  

Zebre, whose first half points came through a controversial fullback Geronimo Prisciantelli try, threatened an upset when Jacopo Trulla scored their second early in the second half.  

READ MORE: Five things we learned from Edinburgh's win over Zebre

But Edinburgh pulled away thanks to late scores from replacement trio Chris Dean, Ben Vellacott and Javan Sebastian.  

Ashman said it was the ideal build-up to next weekend’s meeting with Munster. 

The Scotland international said: "The perfect outcome for me is to get a win and have a lot of stuff to work on. We’ll keep building - there is a lot of belief in the team and the vibe is good. 

Scotland Rugby News: Ashman drives over for the first of his triesAshman drives over for the first of his tries (Image: SNS)

“We’re getting a bit of momentum, so if we can iron out a few things, especially from that second half against Zebre, to produce a complete 80 [minute performance] we can do something special at the end of the season.” 

Asked what exactly Edinburgh need to put right, Ashman said: “There is no one single thing - it’s not as simple as that.”  

He did, however, admit that compounding one penalty concession with another immediately after is something they need to address. 

The 24-year-old said: “Piggybacking penalties is a big one, and so is limiting turnovers. We have to be smart in where we play. 

“Against Zebre, when we played in the right areas, we were clinical in the 22 and showed we can do a lot of damage to teams.” 

While there might be plenty to work on, one of the positives for the capital club was the performance of the pack, who dominated the set-piece.  

Ashman, like head coach Everitt, praised the effort of the pack. 

READ MORE: Sean Everitt lauds Edinburgh bench impact in win over Zebre

He said: “I probably owe a few of the boys a beer. Big Schoey [Pierre Schoeman] and Gilly [Grant Gilchrist] were sorting me out and making me look good.  

“I don’t do too much - my granny probably could have scored those tries - but I enjoy them and they are all the same on the scoreboard. 

The ex-Sale hooker said: “We’ve made a point of priding ourselves on our power game, so to have that platform off that scrum and maul is huge for us. That’s something we will be going after again in the coming games.” 

Scotland Rugby News: Ewan Ashman was named Player of the Match for his two-try displayEwan Ashman was named Player of the Match for his two-try display (Image: SNS)

Ashman also insisted there is no shortage of confidence among the Edinburgh squad that they can reach the play-offs.  

He continued: "The boys know exactly what we need to do.  

“Sean [Everitt] keeps emphasising how important this run-in is: it’s tight in the middle and we know what we need to do.  

“We believe we can do it, which is the most important thing. Now we’ve just got to go out and do it.” 

Ashman also praised the 6,792 Edinburgh fans that packed into Hive Stadium on Friday night for their vocal support.  

He hopes for a repeat when Munster visit the capital for their final home game of the season on Friday night.  

“That was one of the best atmospheres I’ve heard here,” the 17-times capped Scotland international said.  

“They were huge on Friday night and hopefully they can be huge again next week against Munster because we’ll need them.” 

Ashman’s double mean he’s now scored three tries in his last two outings, and four for the URC season.  

He’s still eight behind the league’s top try scorer, his Glasgow counterpart Johnny Matthews.  

Ashman made a name for himself as a prolific try scorer during his time with the Scotland under-20s, but he insisted he is not worrying too much about catching his international colleague.  

He said: “Let’s win some games and we’ll see what happens.”