Scotland Six Nations: Luke Crosbie outlines his ‘nightmare’ scenario for opposition attack coaches

Edinburgh forward ready to perform versatile role at Six Nations

Luke Crosbie during a Scotland rugby training session at Oriam in Edinburgh on January 23, 2024. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Luke Crosbie’s aim is to give opposition attack coaches “nightmares” in the Six Nations and he doesn’t care where in the back row he does it from.

The Edinburgh forward is capable of playing six, seven or eight and his versatility will be seen as a major asset by coach Gregor Townsend going into Scotland’s opening game against Wales.

Crosbie, who started in the wins over England and Wales last season, spells out his role in straightforward terms. “I just stick to my game,” he said. “Get that go-forward ball for the team and in terms of the tackle I just want to make the attack coach of the other team have a nightmare … that’s the way I think of it.

“It is small things like slowing the ball down, winning the ball back – and that is basically the same across the back-row.”

It’s an area of strength for Scotland and competition is such that Jamie Ritchie, last year’s captain, can no longer be guaranteed a starting place. Finn Russell and Rory Darge have been appointed co-captains for this campaign and while Ritchie remains an important cog he’s going to have to battle for a back-row berth with Crosbie, Darge, Andy Christie, Josh Bayliss, Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey.

“It is always a highly competitive position but that’s what gets the best out of me because you come into camp and can’t switch off,” said Crosbie. “Every gym session, every training session, you need to be on point to get in that team, and then when you are handed the jersey you need to make sure you are performing to keep it because you’ll easily be dropped.”

Crosbie, 26, won his sixth and seventh caps in the World Cup matches against Romania and Ireland and feels he’s adapting to the demands of international rugby.

“What I’ve learned is that if you just put all your focus into yourself and what you need to do, not worry about anything else, then you’ll get the best out of your performance. So, it’s about not letting your mind wander too much, just stay where your feet are and focus on the task in hand, which for me is running into people and tackling and stealing the ball back – so I’ll just keep thinking about that.”