'I'd trade my tries for win over All Blacks' - Ewan Ashman

The Edinburgh hooker scored twice from the back of a dominant maul and added another with a barnstorming carry to ensure Scotland stayed in touch, 24-21 behind at the break, before the All Blacks showed their class with a terrific second half display to win 43-21.  

"I'd trade all the tries to have won that game," said Ashman, who became just the fifth player in Test history to score a hat-trick against the All Blacks.  

He joined Australian Greg Cornelson, South Africans Ray Mordt and Marius Joubert, and Welshman Tom Rogers in achieving the feat.The hooker said it was a moment of great personal pride despite the disappointment of the defeat.  

"Result aside, that's something I can be proud of. I'm sure when I get over the emotion of the result, I can look back at that and be proud.  

"My family were giving it beans at the end. They maybe didn't feel the way I did about the game, but it's nice, obviously, to be in with players of that calibre. 

"They're such a quality side. It just shows you that, for only five people to do that, it's nice." 

Ashman's first-half treble kept Scotland in touch at the break before the All Blacks' class showed (Image: Steve Welsh/PA Wire)

Ashman said he took great heart from Scotland's performance in the opening 40 minutes because he felt they had not reached their potential, but like captain Sione Tuipulotu, suggested the team had let themselves down in the second half.  

"We hadn't played that well in the first half. We were scoring tries, we were being a handful. 

"To know that we had more, and we knew we weren't playing well. If we came out in the second half playing as well as we can, this is a game we can win, and we didn't do that. 

Scotland must now dust themselves down and regroup ahead of the visit of Australia to Murrayfield next Sunday.  

The Wallabies, who currently sit third in the southern hemisphere table, open their November campaign against England at Twickenham on Saturday.  

Ashman added: "I can't remember what coach said it to me, but he said you're never as good as you think and you're never as bad as you think. 

"I think it's going to be a hard review on Monday and there's going to be some honest conversations, but it'll quickly flip into excitement for Australia and how buzzing we are and what we can take from our game and put out there for the fans at Murrayfield. 

"There'll be a lot of learnings on Monday and then we'll quickly try and move on because that's the nature of the game." 

Ashman will be aiming to add to his collection of fond memories against Australia, which began with a try-scoring debut back in 2021. He also played in the most recent meeting when Scotland ran out 27-13 winners.  

Ashman marked his debut with a try in the 2021 win over Australia (Image: Colorsport/Shutterstock)

The former Sale Sharks man feels he's changed "massively" since being thrown into the Scotland team as a 21-year-old for his debut.  

"I was probably chucked in at the deep end there," he reflected. 

"I'd like to think I've changed a lot. I'm more well-rounded, I'm a much more developed player and I have a lot more experience under my belt. 

"It was pretty raw going into it then, but if I get some moments like I did in that debut, I'd be happy."