“He was throwing up at half-time” new dad Jack Ashworth hailed after big display

Huddersfield coach Ian Watson praised the efforts of Jack Ashworth in their win over Hull after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first baby on Thursday.

The Giants trailed trailed 16-6 against Hull after an hour before scoring three tries in the last 10 minutes to secure a 22-16 victory that strengthens their position in the top four of Super League.

“He had not had much sleep,” Watson said of Jack Ashworth.

“I think he had too much caffeine and was throwing up in the changing room at half-time. He played on adrenaline, but he played well for us to be fair.”

Ian Watson: We showed champion mentality

Watson said he was never worried about the outcome of their game against Hull. He praised with his side’s patience and resilience as they produced a storming finish.

He said: “We just needed to complete our sets. We felt comfortable against them and were dominating for large parts of the game.

“It was just our silly mistakes that let them off and gave them a bit of a start.

“Once we started completing our sets, they couldn’t handle us.

“The resilience to come back into the game showed a real champion mentality, which is really good for us because, if you look back 12 months, we lose that game.

“We’ve just got to be better at the start to not let teams get away from us.”

Scrum-half Theo Fages produced a masterclass in game management to get the Giants within range – he also scored the 62nd minute try that sparked the late onslaught – while hooker Danny Levi, who began the match on the bench, struck the decisive blows with two opportunist tries in the last seven minutes.

“We’d been speaking about him not scoring those tries for a while, so it’s a great time to score a couple,” Watson said. “It makes him a threat. I thought he was outstanding.”

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