Barritt lauds Ashton’s form

Saracens skipper Brad Barritt has heaped praise on teammate Chris Ashton after his brace against Glasgow Warriors took him level with Vincent Clerc atop the European try-scoring list.

Ashton’s 31st and 32nd tries at Champions Cup level helped his side to a 38-18 victory over Glasgow at Allianz Park crowd.

Barritt praised his former England international teammate’s contribution to the win which earns a Semi-Final against Munster at the Aviva Stadium later this month, explaining:

"It’s a fantastic accolade for Ashy, such is his desire for tries, it shows," Barritt told the Saracens website.

"He’s probably done that in half the time of whoever was there before. 

"But again, he’s obviously a man who prides himself on the Saracens performance. It showed with his two assists today as well. 

"It’s pleasing from that aspect, showing that it’s not just about him scoring the tries but about the team flourishing."

Ashton achieved his try-scoring feat in just 53 games, compared to Frenchman Clerc’s 82 but the winger was quick to praise the team’s performance rather than his own:

"Best I’ve seen us in a long time, I think Toulon was the closest one to that game today, we knew they’d come back at us second-half but it’s just good to get the win."

The 30-year-old also had two tries chalked off and joked after the game about why that might have been: 

"Yeah I’m not happy about that to be fair. Obviously, I’ve had two in the corner, I think my feet are too big, size eights, need to get them out of touch."