London Irish 2014/15 Thread

[Ozzy3213]

First topic message reminder :

  Welcome to this seasons thread for talking about all things London Irish.  

Senior Squad (36)
Hooker: David Paice, Michael Mayhew, Jimmy Stevens 
Prop: Tom Court, Matt Parr, Johnny Harris, Geoff Cross, Halani Aulika, Leo Halavatau, Jamie Hagan
Second Row: George Skivington, Nic Rouse, Sean Cox, Dan Leo 
Back Row: Kieran Low, Blair Cowan, Jebb Sinclair, Ofisa Treviranus, Tom Guest, Luke Narraway, Connor Gilsenen 
Scrum Half: Tomas O'Leary, Darren Allinson, Scott Steele 
Fly Half: Shane Geraghty, Myles Dorrian, Chris Noakes 
Centre: Eamonn Sheridan, Eoin Griffin, Guy Armitage, Fergus Mulchrone
Wing: Topsy Ojo, Andrew Fenby, James Short
Full Back: Tom Homer, Alex Lewington

Senior Academy Squad (11)
Hooker: Gerard Ellis, Ollie Adams 
Prop: Tom Smallbone, Richard Palframan 
Second Row: Ollie Curry, Theo Vukasinovic 
Scrum Half: Conor Murphy 
Centre: Ross Neal, Tom Fowlie
Wing: Harry Lightfoot-Brown 
Full Back: Cameron Cowell

Season Preview

After what can only be described as a disappointing 2013/14 season there is cause for some optimism as we approach the season.  For the first time in a number of seasons, there are more players coming in than leaving, and those arriving are bring with them international experience in varying amounts.  Of those who have gone, only Marland Yarde and James O'Connor would be guaranteed starters this season, and overall the squad looks stronger in terms of both the first XV and depth behind it.  

Up front international props Tom Court and Geoff Cross have joined the club, and Halani Aulika returns after missing the whole of last season through injury.  These three players could be key for us, as an improvement in the set piece will be required if we are to improve on our league position this season, and I am confident that these guys will see us right in that area.  Behind them the combative Sean Cox and powerful Dan Leo have also arrived and should bring the sort of physicality needed to be successful in the Premiership.  In the back row Tom Guest, Luke Narraway and Conor Gilsenan will give us options that we did not have last season, and hopefully Jon Fisher has now recovered from the concussion that saw him miss all of last season.  In short the pack looks far better equipped to provide a platform to play from this time around, and one or two injuries shouldn't hurt us as much as they have done over the last couple of seasons.

Behind the scrum Scott Steele has arrived and has been highly touted to challenge for 9 jersey, and Chris Noakes arrives from Super Rugby to challenge at 10.  Shane Geraghty however may have other ideas after finishing the season strongly in that jersey, but whatever happens, the competition for places can only be good for the team moving forwards.  Eoin Griffin arrives from Connacht in the centres, and looks to be a very good player.  With all of the four senior centres able to play 12 or 13 there could well be some mixing and matching and horses for courses selections over the season, and that is not to mention Tom Fowlie in the academy, who impressed every time he put on the jersey last season, be it at centre or on the wing.  James Short arrives to bolster the wing options and is a proven finisher who the fans will hope can fill the hole left by the outgoing Marland Yarde.

From the academy, Gerard Ellis, Tom Smallbone and Tom Fowlie should get some extended game time this season.  Ellis in particular impressed at the back end of last season and has spent the summer in Australia to assist with honing his skills at hooker, and Smallbone has been in New Zealand playing club rugby and continuing his development as prop by working on his skills with the father of All Black props Owen and Ben Franks.

Whilst we will most definitely be a better side this season than last, it is fair to say that most other sides have also recruited well and will be stronger than last time around.  After a very poor start in 2013 we spent the majority of the year in the relegation scrap, and lost a lot of games by narrow margins.  The key for us will be turning those narrow losses into narrow victories if we want to finish higher than last season, and I think we have recruited well enough to do that.  We must start the season better though, and that won't be easy as we play all of last seasons top four in our first six games.  We will have to raise our game immediately, although it is fair to say that some of our best performances last season came against those sides, and we should be able to draw from those performances this time around.  

I fancy us to steer reasonably clear of the relegation scrap this time around and improve on last years finishing position.  Whatever happens though, one thing will always remain true, and that's I'd rather be a paddy than Quin!!!       

Ozzy's prediction: 8th

Fixture List

Day	Date	KO	Opponents	Venue	Competition	Result
Sat	6th Sep 14	16.30	Harlequins	Twickenham	Aviva Premiership	L 15-20    (7th)
Sun	14th Sep 14	15.00	Newcastle Falcons	Kingston Park	Aviva Premiership	W 20-18   (7th)
Sat	20th Sep 14	15.00	Saracens	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership	L 23-36    (8th)
Sat	27th Sep 14	15.00	Leicester Tigers	Welford Road	Aviva Premiership	W 22-19    (6th)
Sat	4th Oct 14	15.00	Northampton Saints	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
Sat	11th Oct 14	15.00	Exeter Chiefs	Sandy Park	Aviva Premiership
Sun	19th Oct 14	15:00	TBC	Madejski Stadium	European Challenge Cup
Fri	24th Oct 14	19:30	FC Grenoble	Stade Lesdiguières	European Challenge Cup
	TBC		Leicester Tigers	Madejski Stadium	LV Cup
	TBC		Wasps	Adams Park	LV Cup
Sat	15th Nov 14	14.00	Sale Sharks	Salford City Stadium	Aviva Premiership
Sat	22nd Nov 14	15.00	Bath Rugby	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
Sun	30th Nov 14	15.00	Gloucester	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
			Cardiff Blues	BT Sport Arms Park	European Challenge Cup
			Cardiff Blues	Madejski Stadium	European Challenge Cup
Sun	21st Dec 14	14.00	Wasps	Adams Park	Aviva Premiership
Fri	26th Dec 14	15.00	London Welsh	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
Sat	3rd Jan 15	15.00	Saracens	Aliianz Park	Aviva Premiership
Sun	11th Jan 15	15.00	Exeter Chiefs	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
			FC Grenoble	Madejski Stadium	European Challenge Cup
			TBC		European Challenge Cup
	TBC		Scarlets	Parc y Scarlets	LV Cup
	TBC		Newcastle Falcons	Madejski Stadium	LV Cup
Sat	14th Feb 15	15.00	Northampton Saints	Franklins Gardens	Aviva Premiership
Sat	21st Feb 15	15.00	Leicester Tigers	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
Sat	28th Feb 15	14.30	London Welsh	Kassam Stadium	Aviva Premiership
Sat	7th Mar 15	15.00	Harlequins	The Stoop	Aviva Premiership
					LV Cup Semi Final
					LV Cup Final
Sat	28th Mar 15	15.00	Newcastle Falcons	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
					European Challenge Cup Quarter Final
Sun	12th Apr 15	15.00	Sale Sharks	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premiership
					European Challenge Cup Semi Final
Sat	25th Apr 15	15.00	Bath Rugby	The Rec	Aviva Premiership
					European Challenge Cup Final
Sat	9th May 15	15.00	Gloucester	Kingsholm	Aviva Premiership
Sat	16th May	15.00	Wasps	Madejski Stadium	Aviva Premership

Links

Official website
The Craic
Wikipedia page
London Irish ARFC
London Irish Supporters Club website

London Irish RFC Twitter feed
RugbyLI Twitter feed
LISC Twitter feed

[Sgt_Pooly]

Happy with Tom Coventry?

[Ozzy3213]

Very much so. I think he'll be an excellent fit for us.

[Sgt_Pooly]

Chiefs have certainly been a handy side for the last few years

[Heaf]

Very happy - plus his existing links might come in handy for recruitment

[Ozzy3213]

Franks to be confirmed early next week I believe, and some of top new signings in the pipeline.

[Margin_Walker]

Franks to be confirmed early next week I believe, and some of top new signings in the pipeline.

Sounds positive. Any inkling? Backs / forwards? Chiefs?

I'm guessing we'll be on the lookout for a full back and lock depending on who is retained from Cox, Leo, Rouse.

[stnick88]

I think leo will stay but cox and low might go. A fullback is a must.

[Sgt_Pooly]

At least anyone you do get in will be an improvement on that awful Homer.

[Ozzy3213]

Low is a mystery to me. Has had some really good games but also just seems to go missing far to often. Not overly concerned if we lose him.

[SirBurger]

Low is a mystery to me. Has had some really good games but also just seems to go missing far to often.  Not overly concerned if we lose him.

Same here - I struggle to see why he is so highly rated by coaches and how he has won international caps to be honest.

[Margin_Walker]

Low is a mystery to me. Has had some really good games but also just seems to go missing far to often.  Not overly concerned if we lose him.

Same here - I struggle to see why he is so highly rated by coaches and how he has won international caps to be honest.

Yep, obviously takes a lot of ball in the lineout, but outside of that he doesn't offer a lot. Now not being EQP also doesn't work in his favour.

[stub]

Just seen the Irish v Grenoble score (43-41.) What a scoreline! Did anyone see the match?

[Ozzy3213]

Mate, it was a complete rollercoaster. 2 tries in the first 9 minutes to go 12-0 up, then were 15-27 down, then 20-27 at half time. Got 31-27 ahead with the bonus point on the hour, just after David Paice had been shown a red card. Then were 31-41 down with 7 minutes to go. try for Fenby, missed conversion, then a try from Dorrian to tie the scores. Homer knocked over the extras with 2 minutes on the clock. Ridiculous game, typical London Irish!!!

[Heaf]

Just seen the Irish v Grenoble score (43-41.) What a scoreline! Did anyone see the match?

Yes and it didn't do any good for my blood pressure ...

[stub]

Ha ha! Sounds fantastically stressful! Congratulations for the win. 

[SirBurger]

I think leo will stay but cox and low might go. A fullback is a must.

Out of interest, what makes you think Leo will stay? Is it the Samoan connection with TC? I would think that if any of those three were to stay Cox would make the most sense as he is EQP, not to mention that he can run a line-out, which to me makes him a valid back-up squad player, rather than Leo, whose line-out play is fairly average. I wouldn't be surprised if all three were to go though.

[Ozzy3213]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2915968/Chris-Ashton-fight-way-England-fold.html

Tucked away in the middle of this article it says that Tom Coventry wants to bring Clark Laidlaw into the coaching set up. I don't know huge amounts about him, but he seems pretty well regarded out in New Zealand.

[Ozzy3213]

http://www.london-irish.com/h/news/bob-casey-is-new-operations-director-at-london-irish/bp239/

Bob Casey joins the board.

[SirBurger]

Laidlaw would make a lot of sense seeing as he covers a lot of defence - an area we have been short on for a while and will be even more stretched there now that Brian has left.

[Ozzy3213]

Indeed SB. I wonder what the coaching set up will be underneath Coventry. Hopefully Glenn will stay and they can get James Buckland on a full time basis, as there has been a definite improvement in our scrummaging since he cane on board to help out.

[SirBurger]

Indeed SB.  I wonder what the coaching set up will be underneath Coventry.  Hopefully Glenn will stay and they can get James Buckland on a full time basis, as there has been a definite improvement in our scrummaging since he cane on board to help out.

Fitzgerald in the Rugby Paper said that Whiffin and Delaney would both be staying as TC was happy to work with both of them. He said that we would be looking to add to that structure though. I agree definitely on Buckland - there does seem to have been a step up since his arrival. Although having said that, his arrival was never officially confirmed - just a report from Fissler from memory - hardly the most reliable!

[Ozzy3213]

I can confirm that he has been working at the club on a part time basis. Saw him there on one of my visits.

[SirBurger]

I can confirm that he has been working at the club on a part time basis.   Saw him there on one of my visits.

Ah, good to have that confirmed. Thanks.

[Ozzy3213]

Tomas O'Leary confirmed backed to Munster.

[Sin é]

Tomas O'Leary confirmed backed to Munster.

Delighted to hear that.

[Ozzy3213]

Sean Maitland confirmed this morning. Cracking player.

[yappysnap]

To be honest I always thought Maitland failed to deliver on potential, good wing/15 but nothing that special really. Do you guys need more back three players though?

[Ozzy3213]

We have 5 senior back 3 players this season and Tom Homer is off, so yes, we do need back 3 players.

[SirBurger]

Delighted with that signing.

[LondonTiger]

With Franks and Maitland coming in and Cowan already there, rebranding to LNZ needed?


Not sure splashing big money on a back 3 player is what you actually need. Getting things right further forward would have seemed a better use of cash.

[Driver]

Maitland is exactly the type of player Irish need. I imagine he'll roll out at 15 more than wing.

Ojo must be on the decline now surely? 

A back 3 of Lewington , Fenby and Maitland is as dangerous as they come outside the likes of Saints , Saracens and Bath.

[SirBurger]

With Franks and Maitland coming in and Cowan already there, rebranding to LNZ needed?


Not sure splashing big money on a back 3 player is what you actually need. Getting things right further forward would have seemed a better use of cash.

I actually don't think you're right there. Obviously the pack does need to be improved, but our bigger problem this year has been our lack of penetration when we have got the ball to the backs. This has admittedly improved in the past two games, as we have adjusted our game-plan suitably, but a talented footballer like Maitland is exactly what we need to replace Homer. The strengthening of the pack has already started with Ben Franks and I am sure that there are more to come.

[LondonTiger]

When considering the back 3, there are places further forward that excludes the pack


this just reminds me a touch of Quins signing Yarde to increase their attack, however their issues are at 10/12/13. No matter how good the back 3 are, if the midfield gum it up it matters not a jot.

[SirBurger]

Oh ok, I see.

And yes, we do have issues in the midfield. However, quins only had enough cash for Yarde. We have been under the cap for years and think we will be looking to strengthen all of our problem areas.

[LondonTiger]

Where is the cash coming from to pay for it?

[Irish Londoner]

LT - the club is under new ownership who I understand are worth a few bob, not Saracens/Bath well off but I'd like to be £50 behind them. They've invested in a new training ground and are rumoured to be looking to move the team back to London, probably in a groundshare with Brentford if/when they build a new stadium.

Whether it's enough to get them up from the bottom three to chasing top six is a different matter.

I'm sure Ozzy would have the details.

[LondonTiger]

Thanks for info. Would be good if the development of the club could make tyhem more self-sustainable.

[Ozzy3213]

That is indeed the plan LT, to follow the Tigers/Saints/Chiefs model of being self sustainable. The new board have committed to sticking their hands in their own pockets and taking the hit for 3 years to put the building blocks in place to achieve that.

There is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes relating to both on and off field activities. There will be further player announcements in the coming weeks as well as information relating to off field stuff. It's an exciting time to be a London Irish supporter.

[petethepete]

Been hearing rumours of a London groundshare for awhile now! How likely is it? I live in Ealing and used to make it to approx 10 games a season at the avenue, only been a handful of times in the last few years! I would be delighted with a Brentford groundshare, that is due to be open for the start of the 2016 season.

Would of course feel for the Reading based fans, but think attendance would rise if based in West London.

[SirBurger]

The guys at my club are convinced it is happening, although I'm not sure how much evidence they have.

[Ozzy3213]

I think it is inevitable that we will move, whether that's back to London or to a site local to reading I don't know. That ultimately I think will be decided by economics.

[Irish Londoner]

Personally as someone based in London I'd love them to move back somewhere a bit nearer - there was also talk of Brentford's new pitch being 4G or mixed grass/synthetic which would again make it suitable for rugby to share.
At the moment going out to Reading is either a long train journey or a drive and then no beers.

[Heaf]

Personally I'd like them to stay near Reading ...

[Ozzy3213]

I'm 25 minutes from Reading and the same from Sunbury so my view is just that I'd like to see us own our own ground and if I can get there in under an hour then that's all good by me.

[Heaf]

Somewhere in the middle would do

[SirBurger]

Somewhere in the middle would do

Ozzy's front door sounds perfect!

[Heaf]

Do you have a big garden Ozzy?

[Ozzy3213]

My garden backs onto a park if that's any use?!

[Heaf]

Can you get planning permission?

[Ozzy3213]

I understand that another signing will be announced on Monday.

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