Jack of all trades Callum Irving thought his days as a professional rugby league player were numbered - now he wants to repay York Wasps for handing him a career lifeline.

The student international never expected to play at a high level again after suffering a horrific knee injury while playing for St Helens Academy two years ago.

But after asking the Wasps for a trial following the completion of the student season, 20-year-old Irving has been thrust straight into the rough and tough world of the Northern Ford Premiership.

"I did a bit of damage to my knee which kept me out for a year. I had a lot of surgery done. They pinned it back into place - a bit of it's false now," said Irving, revealing how he smashed his left knee cap and cruciate ligaments.

"I wasn't really expecting to play again so I'm enjoying it at York. And I'm very happy to be playing for Crooksy because you can see the effort he puts in."

Irving, captain of the York University side, made his second appearance for the Wasps in yesterday's 70-6 home defeat by Oldham at Huntington Stadium.

In those two games he has already occupied three different positions - he was in the centre at Swinton and yesterday switched from the wing to full-back during the first half.

However, his utility value is not just confined to the three-quarters. "I play for the Scottish Students at loose forward because the forwards aren't as big in the student game and I was playing scrum-half for York University," explained Irving.

Although he hails from Cumbria, where he has played for both Carlisle and Workington, he has Glaswegian roots which make him proud to represent Scotland students.

The international life will see Irving travel to Russia in September to play in a Home Nations tournament. Also in the offing closer to home is a Varsity match between York Uni and the College of Ripon and St John and a Roses match against Lancaster University.

However, until then his thoughts are firmly focussed in helping to breathe some life into the Wasps.

Irving claimed the margin of Oldham's victory yesterday flattered the visitors after a much improved performance from the Wasps.

He said: "It was 100 per cent better than last week. Oldham are a far better side than Swinton, once they saw a gap they went through it. We just missed a few tackles.

"The result wasn't a true reflection - 40-6 would have been. You can't knock the lads though, we worked as hard as we could. The new kids have done well. There's a bit of spirit now. I don't think they'll be any more thrashings.

"We're looking for another hard-working performance against Rochdale next week which will be a tough game, then we're looking for a win at Hunslet on Good Friday."

Coach Lee Crooks also believes the Wasps are heading in the right direction. He said: "All I can do is look for improvement. Against Swinton there was improvement from the Chorley game and there's been improvement again from the Swinton game.

"We're still lacking numbers in training and we're lacking quality but we're showing a lot of effort."

Updated: 09:44 Monday, April 02, 2001