Luke Crosbie is ‘not the normal well-to-do Edinburgh boy’ said Richard Cockerill as the former Edinburgh coach gave his seal of approval to the back-rower’s rise to the Scotland team.
Cockerill, now England’s scrum coach, was in charge at Murrayfield when Crosbie came through from West Lothian club rugby.
Six of the Scotland 23 for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash at Twickenham played under Cockerill when he was at Edinburgh.
He gave first starts to Pierre Schoeman, Duhan van der Merwe and Crosbie while he knows skipper Jamie Ritchie, Grant Gilchirst and Blair Kinghorn well.
‘He’s a tough bugger’
𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭™️
The man in form, ready for a first @SixNationsRugby start 👊 pic.twitter.com/z9WRHOyUcZ
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) February 3, 2023
Although he left the club 18 months ago Cockerill has plenty insider knowledge of the Scottish game.
“It helps a little bit,” he said. “I know the players a bit better than most here, so there’s a little bit of inside info.
“But we’ve been focusing on our game and what we do. My experience helps a little bit. We’ll see tomorrow whether it’s helped enough.”
Crosbie, however, is someone he long expected to see in a Scotland shirt.
“He’s not the normal well to do Edinburgh boy is he? He’s a tough bugger and he carries hard and tackles hard.
“I’m not surprised how he’s played, I’m actually really pleased for him because of all the Scottish back rows I’ve watched play I think he’s the form back row of the moment.
“He deserves his spot. Having Saracens play Edinburgh recently, it’s given an insight for our group to see how well Luke’s being playing.
“He’s been outstanding and I’ve got a lot of time for him.”
‘I know the passion’
Cockerill still lives in Edinburgh, and knows the passion of the Scots. He still rankles at losing a bet on a Scotland-England game in 2018 when his forfeit was having to wear a ‘See You Jimmy’ hat at training.
“That was painful!” he recalled. “I know the passion, I see that every day. It’s a huge game.
“We know it means a lot to Scotland and it means a hell of a lot to us as an England team.
“But I can assure you that, tomorrow, we will have enough passion to match the Scots’ passion. Then it will be down to who plays the best rugby.”