URC: Scarlets v Edinburgh: strong squad for Llanelli trip but Luke Crosbie an injury concern

01/24/2025 07:00 AM

DESPITE having eight players retained by the Scotland squad and 10 others listed as injured or suspended, head coach Sean Everitt has managed to select an experienced match-day squad, alongside a smattering of promising youngsters, for Edinburgh’s URC clash against Scarlets in Llanelli tomorrow [Saturday] afternoon. There are 12 Scotland caps plus one England cap in the match-day 23, including two British & Irish Lions in the shape of scrum-half Ali Price and openside flanker Hamish Watson.

Among the players listed as injured is Luke Crosbie, who is part of Scotland’s Six Nations training squad but has a back issue. "He didn’t report anything post-match [versus Black Lion last weekend],” explained Everitt. “It’s one of those things, his hamstring stiffened up in the game but that wasn’t too serious. And then you wake up on Tuesday morning and you have a thoracic spasm. That wasn’t due to the nature of the game on Sunday. Well, I hope not anyway. But at the same time, you can't afford to throw caution to the wind when you’re dealing with thoracic injuries, and there’s no way that he could have played this week. How long it will take [to clear up]? We’re not sure about that."

Asked about Crosbie’s availability for Scotland’s Six Nations against Italy at Murrayfield next Saturday, Everitt replied: “I think it’s the nature of injuries that when it comes to spasms, you’re not sure how long it’s going to take to go away. So, I can’t comment on that. But hopefully he will be back in training next week.”

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Meanwhile, centre Matt Currie and hooker Patrick Harrison have been released by national head coach Gregor Townsend to play in this match, indicating that they are unlikely to feature against Italy. Edinburgh are also boosted by the return of Harry Paterson on the wing for only his second appearance of the season (the other appearance being at the end of October), after an injury-ravaged first 12 months since making a stunning Scotland debut as a late call-up against France during the 2024 Six Nations.

“We thought Harry came through really well in that ‘A’ team game [last week against Scotland under-20s], when he created some really good opportunities and he got several line breaks in that game as well.  So, he’s ready to take the field and continue where he left off when he last played for Edinburgh and for Scotland,” said Everitt.

Another player hoping to start making up for lost time is 32-year-old Robin Hislop, listed as replacement loose-head prop, just over a year since his last appearance against Gloucester during the pool stage of the 2023-24 Challenge Cup.

"He played for the first part of the season and got injured in January last year, so it’s been a frustrating few, well, several months for him,” said Everitt. “It’s never what you want at that time in your career, to get a long-term ACL injury, and he’s been quite relentless in how he’s done his rehabilitation and his recovery.

"He had a set-back with the meniscus [cartilage in his knee] as well, so I’m just glad to see him back on the park. He also had a good outing for the ‘A’ team last week against Scotland under-20s, so there’s a lot of things to be happy about and a lot of things to celebrate this week.

“Obviously, we can celebrate the guys that have gone into the Six Nations squad as well, who have worked incredibly hard, and at the same time we can celebrate for some guys getting an opportunity this weekend who haven’t had game time at all in the URC.

"Some of the youngsters coming through, like Liam McConnell, although he played in the EPCR he hasn’t had URC game-time so it’s his first senior game … as well as Rob Carmichael and Tom Currie who are on the bench. Tom [who is in the senior academy and the younger brother of Matt] went to Doncaster on loan back in October, was outstanding there, they wanted to keep him for the rest of the season, but he came back to us, played a few games for Musselburgh where he was outstanding as well, and he did well in the A games, so he’s delighted that he's getting this opportunity.

“So, I think it’s exciting times for them because the youngsters do bring energy to the group."

Edinburgh are seeking to make it four wins on the bounce for the first time since beating Dragons, Benetton, Saracens and Cardiff in consecutive matches between 27th November 2021 and 8th January 2022 (they actually actually defeated Zebre a week earlier so it was a five-match run), and Everitt is understandably keen to emphasise a feel-good factor which has started to develop after a fairly bumpy start to the season.

"It’s an extremely important game for us. We’ve got an opportunity to build momentum after three wins in a row,” he said. “We also haven’t got a great away record [which we want to address].

“And obviously if you look at the logs [URC league table], it is jammed from first to 12th, so a win here and a couple of results go your way and you find yourself in the top five [Edinburgh are currently eighth, ahead of Ulster on points difference]. So, it’s a very important game for the club, more important for the club than the individuals taking the field.”

Edinburgh Rugby (versus Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday @ 3pm UK time – live on Premier Sports): W Goosen; H Paterson, M Currie, J Lang, L Wells; B Healy, A Price; B Venter, P Harrison, P Hill, G Young, S Skinner ©, L McConnell, H Watson, T Dodd. Subs: H Morris, R Hislop, J Sebastian, R Carmichael, T Currie, B Vellacott, R Thompson, M Tuipulotu.

Unavailable: N Sweeney (knee), F Douglas (ankle), R McCann (calf), B Muncaster (ankle), E Boffelli (back), M Bennett (pec), J Hodgson (tricep), C Boyle (knee), L Crosbie (back), M Bradbury (suspension).

International selection: P Schoeman, E Ashman, D Cherry, G Gilchrist, M Sykes, J Ritchie, D van der Merwe, D Graham.