Ford – ‘It was a good first hit-out’

Scotland hooker and two-try hero Ross Ford was delighted to keep the momentum going from the Six Nations with a 34-13 win over Italy on Saturday.

Ford scored two of his side’s five tries as Scotland blew Italy away at the Singapore National Stadium and the 33-year-old hooker has expressed his delight at what he was able to achieve.

“It was good to get the win and keep the momentum going from the Six Nations. We played with a bit of ambition, a bit of tempo. It was a good first hit-out,” Ford told The Scotsman.

“There were a lot of positives, round the maul, defensively in the lineout and a lot of our phase play was good.

“It was good to score. I managed to pop up in the right places, at the back of a maul for the first and on Finn [Russell’s] shoulder for the second where thankfully I did not have too much to do. It was good, good fun, good to be out there playing an enjoyable game.

“I was expecting Finn to give the ball to Tim Visser but instead he popped it out the back door to me – happy days. Those are the things you have to watch out for; he is able to do those things that not many people think about. That is how you score tries.”

His personal triumph however, was superseded by the overall team satisfaction of having got Gregor Townsend’s tenure off to a winning start in his first match at the helm of the Scotland side.

“It was really good to get that momentum, we talked about it back in Scotland that we had built some momentum in the Six Nations and with Gregor [Townsend] coming in wanted to keep it going,” said Ford.

“It was good to show that we can play the way he wants us to play fast and at tempo, and still be accurate.”