EDINBURGH flanker Luke Crosbie believes that his team’s impressive victory over English giants Saracens in their last outing is just a hint towards the club’s full potential.
The capital outfit have missed out on their usual festive season double-header against Glasgow Warriors in the opposition camp, so will be looking to pick-up from where they left off when they return to United Rugby Championship [URC] action against Cardiff Blues at the DAM Health Stadium next Saturday afternoon.
“That Saracens match was a great game to go down there and get that result,” said Crosbie, who made his Scotland debut against Tonga during the recent Autumn Test series. “The way we played and fought against that level of opposition was a brilliant experience.”
Edinburgh have set out to add a layer of attacking finesse to their game since Mike Blair took over as head coach at the club from Richard Cockerill ahead of the start of this season, and the early indications are that the project is on the right path. As well as that notable victory at the Stonex Stadium a fortnight ago, they have picked up five wins and a draw from seven matches played to sit one-point behind Leinster in second place of the URC table.
“The boys are happy,” said Crosbie. “The foundations have always been there since I came to the club almost five years ago. We’re all working hard for each other and that’s always been consistent over the years. And now we’re building on that and getting good results, like down in Saracens.”
“We’ve just tweaked aspects of our game to focus on our attack a bit more and playing a bit more. We’ve got a good balance to our game. We’re still holding on to things like our box-kicking and ability to kick-and-chase. That’s why we were able to hold on to our lead in those last 10 minutes against Saracens when it was set-piece orientated and we had to catch all those balls in the backfield on a windy night. Our foundations are always there that we can fall back on.
“But in terms of our attacking ability and our speed of play, we’re utilising the players that we’ve got. We can play at tempo as well and that’s working for us. It’s a great place to be in.”
Crosbie, who has managed 65 appearances for Edinburgh since his debut back in October 2017, hopes that his international debut can be the catalyst to pushing himself higher up a club level back-row pecking order which also includes Hamish Watson, Jamie Ritchie, Bill Mata, Nick Haining and Magnus Bradbury during 2022.
“I’ve been playing a bit better since being capped for Scotland,” said the 24-year-old – who is one of four nominees as Edinburgh’s player of the month for December alongside Nick Haining, Magnus Bradbury and Emiliano Boffelli.
“I felt in the last few games I’ve been playing quite well. At times you do chase things. I wanted to play for Scotland more than anything and put a lot of pressure on myself to do that. Looking back, I don’t know if that got the best out of me in terms of performance.
“But now I’ve learned that it’s better just to go out there and enjoy it and that’s worked for me. Getting that first cap was good to get the monkey off my back. It was something that was just sitting at the back of my head so I’m glad I’ve managed to do that. And now I want to kick on and keep working hard.
“I just turn up every day and work as hard as I can. Playing for Scotland is what I want to do but Edinburgh is still first for me. I’ll never lose sight of how important it is to appreciate where you are and be in the present moment.
“Everyone is always chasing something and when I was a young boy growing up, I always wanted to play for Edinburgh. In your career you always look ahead and everyone wants to play internationally, and I love playing for Scotland. It was one of the best moments of my career, seeing my family there.
“They knew how hard I had worked to get that moment and that’s what I took from that. I was doing it for them. I’m just turning up, reviewing my games, working on the detail, and putting my best foot forward. I’ll always put my body on the line for my team-mates and whatever happens, happens.”
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