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.

- PAUL REES

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.