Leicester Tigers head coach Richard Wigglesworth praised the achievement of wing Chris Ashton, who became the first player ever to score 100 Premiership tries.
The former England speedster took his tally to 101 in England’s top-tier after he touched down three times in Leicester’s 62-19 triumph over Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.
Ashton’s poaching instincts, as well as his outstanding support lines, set him apart from the rest, with Wigglesworth saying: “I’m delighted for him as he is the best try-scorer that Europe and the Premiership has ever seen.”
Expecting record to be beaten
The wing is delighted to reach the landmark but believes that it will be beaten by “many people.”
“I’m playing in a great team and the boys were right behind me today as they wanted me to get the record,” Ashton said.
“I am the first to reach the milestone of a hundred tries and I will be remembered for that although I’m sure many people will go past it.
“When I was a kid I looked up to the try-scoring exploits of Shaun Edwards and Martin Offiah and if I can be judged to be only close to that bracket, I will be chuffed.”
Although Ashton was the main story, it was also an important victory for Leicester, who effectively sealed their play-off place.
The Tigers are on an upward trajectory and absolutely dominated the Chiefs on Sunday, especially after Exeter flyer Olly Woodburn was controversially sent off.
“We try to keep on winning and it’s rewarding when people were only too keen to write it off when we lost three in a row,” Wigglesworth added.
“I wasn’t happy about our first-half effort as I thought we were only playing at around 70 per cent but then they were certainly hamstrung by the red card and we went about our business efficiently.”
Exeter’s reaction to Woodburn red
Woodburn was dismissed for a second yellow card when he was deemed to have illegally prevented Ashton from scoring a try.
The decision to punish the Exeter wing was widely condemned on social media, but the Chiefs’ director of rugby, Rob Baxter, remained philosophical over the incident.
“I think the circumstances contrived against Olly in respect of the sending off. The first yellow card for a deliberate knock-on was clearly correct but for the second, it was the only thing he could have done to prevent a try,” Baxter said.
“If the try had been awarded then nobody would have looked at it but as it wasn’t the TMO went through the process and adjudged that by diving on top of the player on the ground, he was forced into touch.
“There was therefore an act of foul play which then results in a penalty try and the issue of another yellow card.
“After conceding a couple of early tries, I thought we were the better team in terms of territory and possession and were unlucky to go in at half-time behind.
“Every little basic error we made today hurt us and seemed to be magnified and I’m a little concerned at how the game ran away from us.”
READ MORE: Five takeaways from Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs as Olly Woodburn can feel hard done by
The article Chris Ashton: Leicester wing hailed ‘the best try-scorer Europe has ever seen’ following record-breaking exploits appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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