Crosbie welcomes his competition at back-row

RICHARD Cockerill likes to plead poverty when he talks about his playing budget and squad depth at Edinburgh, but the one thing he isn’t short of is back-row options.

His front-line of Viliame Mata, Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie could stand comparison with any club side in Europe, then he has two more internationalists in Magnus Bradbury and Nick Haining itching to push their way up the pecking order, with a raft of promising homegrown youngsters in Luke Crosbie, Ally Miller, Rory Darge and Connor Boyle hot on their heels. No wonder Fijian international Mesulame Kunavula can’t get a look in.

Such an embarrassment of riches may seem hard to justify in these financially fraught times, and you do fear that some of the younger players on the above list are running the risk of being left on the shelf for too long.

But Crosbie for one says he has no complaints about the level of competition he must outshine if he is to get anywhere near the squad.

“It’s definitely helped me a lot,” he insisted of the competition.

“Training with boys like that who have gone on to the international stage and performed really well makes me confident that I can take the next step up as well.

“It’s really good for development as a younger player. I feel my game is at the next level compared to what it was.

“I’ve not got the mindset of keeping on developing, because I feel I’m at that place now where I am confident, I am good, and I’m ready to push on.

“I’m just going out there and showcasing what I can do. I’m confident that I can play at the highest level.”