Rugby: Ospreys are twin target for Sean Crombie

Published on Saturday 6 March 2010 10:18

SEAN CROMBIE admits he will be playing to further his career as well as help Edinburgh Rugby towards a play-off spot should an opportunity arise from off the bench in tomorrow's Magners Celtic League clash with Ospreys at Murrayfield.

For the 23-year-old hooker the past two professional seasons have amounted to seven minutes of substituting during both recent festive derbies against Glasgow.

At Firhill Crombie made his Edinburgh debut for the concluding five minutes and six days later he picked up a couple of minutes' game time in the return fixture at Murrayfield.

Nobody is more aware than the former Boroughmuir and Scotland age-group star that time is running out before his contract expires after spells out with ankle and back injuries.

"The Ospreys game could be massive for me and I'm hoping for the chance to put down a marker sooner rather than later," said Crombie, who will be understudying long-serving Andy Kelly tomorrow. "By the time of our next game at home to Llanelli Scarlets on 26 March the Six Nations Championship will be over and so Ross Ford could be returning.

"During my time at Edinburgh I've had a string of medium-term injuries and I'm having to compete against Ross, who is a British Lion and Ned (Kelly) who has been at the club for years."

Any call to arms will be a particularly new experience for Crombie since his only previous outing against Welsh opposition came in an under-20 international.

"When I was attached to the Border Reivers I never got off the bench against Llanelli and I was benched throughout an Edinburgh-Cardiff match. With Ospreys sitting on top of the league this will, of course, be a case of going in at the deep end but I welcome that as a better opportunity to prove myself," he went on.

Crombie's problems began when he was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his back. That has meant long periods of rehab, which have been eased by considerate treatment from the Edinburgh medics.

"My back injury can now be managed successfully but, at one stage I was finding, like any player, that it is especially hard to be around the team yet unable to play. Fortunately the medics recognised this and set up a programme where I would do approximately two-thirds of my rehab at Murrayfield and the remainder elsewhere."

Adding to Crombie's natural angst has been the fact that Edinburgh, including for a home Heineken European Cup tie with Bath, have sometimes been forced to opt for a prop, Kyle Traynor, covering hooker.

On occasions Crombie, a club internationalist, has been able to turn out for Edinburgh's back-up team as well as Selkirk in the premiership and he has managed to remain philosophical.

"While it has been frustrating for me I haven't had a seriously long injury absence like David Callam and Ross Rennie."

Both Rennie and Callam (also on the bench) are also now restored to fitness and back in the squad to face Ospreys.

Edinburgh

15 Cairns

14 Robertson

13 De Luca

12 Houston

11 Webster

10 D Blair

9 M Blair (c)

1 Traynor

2 Kelly

3 G Cross

4 MacLeod

5 S Turnbull

6 MacDonald

8 Roddy Grant

7 Rennie

Substitutes:

Crombie

Ryan Grant

Hamilton

Callam

Laidlaw

Godman

Visser

Ospreys

15 Owen/Davies

14 Vaughton

13 Parker

12 Bishop

11 Walker

10 Biggar

9 Phillips

1 Bevington

2 Hibbard/ Shervington

3 Mitchell

4 Gough

5 Evans

6 Collins (c)

8 Tiatia

7 Holah

Substitutes:

Shervington/Breeze

Griffiths

Lloyd/Goode

Tandy/Lewis

Nutbrown

Beck

Davies/Owen

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)