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

[exileray]

will there be a jaw dropping new player coming to irish .

[Margin_Walker]

Palf had a superb first start. Hell of a game for a 21 year old tighthead, especially one who has flown under the radar a bit. It won't always go that well for him, but it's encouraging to know he's got the tools to perform well at this level and should be getting a decent amount of gametime next season. A secondary point was how refreshing to see how destructive Court is able to be on the other side when he has a tighthead that isn't struggling as much as ours have this year.

Guest is great, is surprisingly elusive in traffic for a tall bloke and has the pace to make it count when he gets through. His offload game is also very good. All in all it was definitely a fee good win.

Exile ray - I doubt it, maybe Tiko and a squad lock. Would have loved Osboune, but more than happy with our recruitment.

[SirBurger]

Absolutely true re Palf - he will have tougher tests, but he looks to have the raw ingredients. I loved his break up the field as well!

My theory is that the 'jaw dropper' referred to was Osborne, but that it fell through and Tikoirotuma will be the alternative.

[Margin_Walker]

Yeah, he looked all action (and has done in his earlier cameos off the bench). Flies into tackles and at the opposition with ball in hand.

[SirBurger]

Sheriff confirmed as the new second row signing. Seems like a good squad player who will complement what we have nicely. Looks to be somewhere in between Cox (too lightweight) and Leo (poor at line out) as our 4th choice and therefore shouldn't weaken us too much if any of Skivs, Rouse or Symons are missing. Indeed, with some good form he could even play himself into contention. I won't pretend to having watched loads of him, but I do remember us being linked with him last year and the Sarries fans at the time were saying it was a shame that they were so well stocked at lock as he is a good player. His youtube clips seem to confirm that.

Tikoirotuma as final signing I imagine...

[Ozzy3213]

Spot on SirBurger.

I'm pretty happy with our recruitment this season, it has addressed the areas of weakness within the current playing squad, mainly scrum, lineout and goal kicking. Franks, Symons, McKibbin and Goode all address those issues, and we have improved back up other positions in Trayfoot, Sisi, Waldouck. Youngsters like Ellis, Smallbone, Steele, Gilsenan and Fowlie will all be a year older and in some cases with game time under their belts.

I'm optimistic of improved performance and hopeful of some consistency. That should see us clear of a relegation scrap, but how far we can climb will depend on other teams recruitment as well.

[SirBurger]

Completely agree. It is hard to get too carried away as other sides have strengthened as well, but this has to have been our best transfer campaign for a number of years. You're right that it is pleasing that we have finally addressed those areas of weakness.

Delaney speaks very positively about Cruse at hooker as well in these week's podcast - another guy who should really improve our 2nd/3rd choice option in that department over and above what we have.

With a stronger platform then the youngsters should really be able to shine next year as well. Smallbone, Palframan, Ellis and Fowlie, in particular, have had to be quite patient, but next year they should shine.

Can't wait.

[SirBurger]

PS> Team for Friday?

1. Court
2. Paice
3. Palframan
4. Skivington
5. Sinclair
6. Narraway
7. Cowan
8. Guest

9. Steele
10. Geraghty
11. Lewington
12. Mulchrone
13. Griffin
14. Fowlie
15. Ojo

Bench: Ellis, Parr, Aulika, Cox, Curry, Allinson, Noakes, Short

(Based on assumption that Rouse, Gilsenan and Fenby are out after last week - and as well as Noakes went, a hope that Shane is back to play at 10).

[Ozzy3213]

I've been really underwhelmed by Narraway to be honest, which has disappointed me as he was a player I really rated when he was at Gloucester. If neither of Trev or Conor are fit, and presuming Jebb will be needed at lock, I'd be tempted to give Curry a run out in the 6 jersey, presuming that he is being retained next season. The backline picks itself really. If Fenby is fit then he'd be in for Fowlie, who should get a decent run off the bench.

[SirBurger]

I thought Narraway had a really good impact against Sale. He worked really well as a link man in attack and showed up well in defence as well. I would worry though about the balance of the back row with him at 6, but not sure I would start Curry ahead of him at this stage.

[sunburyboy]

I think you will have to remove Scott Steele from your team SirBurger as I believe he is out for the remainder of the season having had an operation last week.

[SirBurger]

Ah that's a shame - thanks for the information.

[SirBurger]

Happy with Tiks. Obviously, probably not quite the coup that Osborne would have been, although not sure I would have said the same thing before Tiks' move to Quins, but I think he could prove to be an inspired signing back under the tutelage of Tom Coventry and co. Hopefully we can get him back into the sort of form he showed for the Chiefs. He certainly has the raw materials to be a big success.

Anyway, recruitment campaign finalised I guess. Can't wait for pre-season to start and for the shape of the side to begin to take place. Although we will be without Franks, Cross, Treviranus, Cowan, Tikoirotuma, Maitland and possibly one or two others for the start of the campaign, due to the World Cup, I think we are looking the strongest we have done for years.

For me the 2012/13 squad was a significant step down in class from 2011/12 and 2013/14 was another big drop in quality from 2012/13. This season's squad probably brought us back up to about the level of the 2012/13 season, but next season's should see us back to about the strength we had in 2011/12, possibly even stronger in places. That season we finished 7th. The league is almost certainly tougher now, but we should be looking to push up the table next season.

[Margin_Walker]

Yep, as recruitment campaigns go, that was far above my expectations. I know that games aren't won on paper and things have to gel, but you have to give yourself a chance in the first place by having a strong squad. All you can really ask for as a starting point is to have a stronger squad than the year before, and we definitely have. It's up to the players and coaching staff now to make use of that as the league won't stand still, and there will be no London Welsh as a guaranteed home and away win next year.

Do we know how long after being knocked out of the WC that players will be available? as it's unlikely that Samoa and Scotland will both qualify for the QFs, for example. As far as I remember the first prem games are on QF weekend

[SirBurger]

Not sure if there is a formal rest period post World Cup or not? I imagine we would want to give Cowan, Trev etc a bit of rest time anyway. Franks is likely to be a bench player and I doubt Cross will play much either. Maitland might not even make the squad if his injury doesn't sort itself out in time.

Re Tikoirotuma, it is probably worth remembering that Yarde looked much better for us than he has done at Quins. Obviously, the same won't necessarily apply to AT, but for all Quins fancy Rugby, I think we are actually slightly better at getting our wide players into the game.

[SirBurger]

Good to see that another school lad, Callum Watson, will be on the bench for us tomorrow. Have only seen a bit of him, but think his basics do need some work. However, he is probably the best running 9 we have in the whole of the set-up (no surprise there considering who his brothers are), so I am keen for him to go well.

[LondonTiger]

Good to see that another school lad, Callum Watson, will be on the bench for us tomorrow. Have only seen a bit of him, but think his basics do need some work. However, he is probably the best running 9 we have in the whole of the set-up (no surprise there considering who his brothers are), so I am keen for him to go well.

So is Mike Ford

[SirBurger]

Good to see that another school lad, Callum Watson, will be on the bench for us tomorrow. Have only seen a bit of him, but think his basics do need some work. However, he is probably the best running 9 we have in the whole of the set-up (no surprise there considering who his brothers are), so I am keen for him to go well.

So is Mike Ford

Haha - I did consider going onto the Bath board and letting them know that a future star of theirs was playing tomorrow...

In all seriousness, I hope and think that those days are actually behind us.

[Ozzy3213]

Well that was a thoroughly depressing performance yesterday.

[exileray]

how can we (irish) give away a shed load of penalties and pick up yellow cards every single week. then go in to training on Monday morning to work out what they are doing wrong only to do the same thing the next week.
my mum used to say do that again and you will get a thick ear, they are very lucky she is not in charge.
the new coach has got to sort this as soon as he gets here, I also think we need a big no8 and someone to sparkle in midfield.
sent off for my new season yesterday £260 what a bargain.

[sunburyboy]

There was a decent amount of travelling support at Kingsholm and I felt sorry for everyone (including myself) for having to endure such a disgraceful performance. Clark Laidlaw and Grant Dorey cannot arrive soon enough, a view that I understand is subscribed to by those more knowledgeable than me. Perhaps enough said on that topic. Certainly the season ticket package is intriguing. Several games in London, two at the Stoop and the Double Header (away) included. I wonder where the home game not included in the package will be played. The St Patrick's Day game at at the Olympic Stadium would be an interesting idea. Certainly nice to see some games being played in London!

[SirBurger]

Great to have the coaching staff arriving as soon as possible (I'm guessing that's what you were referring to sunburyboy!).

Saturday was really quite depressing and the discipline issue is a huge one. But our handling was just as big. Glenn has done a great job since he took over, but it really seems like we went into the game with a 'let's fling it about' kind of attitude and it really cost us. We shovelled on so much poor quality ball. It is all good and well having the right mentality in attack, but currently the platform and skill levels to execute it aren't good enough. All in all I am optimistic about next season, although I do worry slightly about a couple of things. Is the addition of Goode and Maitland really going to drastically improve our cutting edge? Where is the carrying impetus going to come from in the forwards? Arguably, only Symons and Franks of our new signings are going to be starters in the pack and neither are particularly brilliant carriers. Treviranus can't come back soon enough and I guess Sisi/Trayooft will improve us in that area for when he is out injured. Personally I am a big fan of Guest so I'm not too concerned about Number 8 - it is the lack of carrying across the team as a whole that slightly concerns me. It's why I am still fairly gutted we missed out on Osborne.

Anyway, I am sure coaching changes will go some way to improving those areas and the signings we have made are the best we have done for years. I guess after such a disappointing display it is hard not to question one or two things.

[HongKongCherry]

The first 15 minutes of the match you guys were all over us and we just couldn't get out of the 22, then you just seemed to stop trying. Whilst I was delighted by the intensity of our rucking you seemed to be knocked off the ball ever so easily.

[SirBurger]

Yea - we were rucked off the ball far too easily. One of those games where every time we took the ball into contact I was concerned that we would lose it. Such a shame as, like you say, we looked very dominant for the first period of the game (aside from our inability to actually put the ball down over the whitewash!)

[Majestic83]

Just a quick question about Geoff Cross. Is he injured at the moment or has he just been that poor he isn't making the match day squad for London Irish?

[sunburyboy]

Geoff Cross is not injured. Richard Palframan, who is a real prospect is ahead of him in the pecking order at present. (Richard will be Engllish qualified in October). One to look out for.

[SirBurger]

Just a quick question about Geoff Cross. Is he injured at the moment or has he just been that poor he isn't making the match day squad for London Irish?

As Sunburyboy explains. One thing to add and that I read on another forum. Someone asked him whether he was injured in person and he admitted that he had been dropped and that it was the right decision as he wasn't hitting the scrum hard enough and that he had work to do in training on it. Big of him to own up to it I thought! Seems like a good bloke so I hope he comes back into form over the summer and makes the Scotland squad.

[Ozzy3213]

Saturday was a debacle, but I am optimistic about the future. The coaching staff arriving pre world cup could be massive.

There are a few guys who have been overplayed this season, Skivs, Blair and Paicey spring to mind, and I know they are knackered. I'm not excusing the poor performance, but I'm not surprised, they are on the their last legs.

There are a few guys currently guaranteed a start who will be looking over their shoulder in the summer, and Paice again springs to mind. From what I've seen of Cruse, he could well leapfrog him very quickly, in particular if Paicey continues to be a penalty machine, and he is a better carrier to boot.

[Ozzy3213]

What a finish to the season. Was always going to be a bit of a throwabout in the sun, but plenty there to be encouraged by and for the new coaching set up to work with. Roll on next season!

[Heaf]

Fantastic match - even though it was a draw that was the best of the season for me.

[exileray]

glad the season is over it has been hard work watching irish at times.
irish now need to push on and get the sixth spot next season so they can further attract quality players with the promise of champions cup rugby.
for irish to do this they need to be better than the likes of wasps/sale and Exeter and even with our new players coming in (we still need 4 more) I can't see that happening.
so with my new £260 (what a bargain) season ticket in back pocket we will do it all again and finish 8th .

[SirBurger]

8th would be an improvement and a step in the right direction for me. We can't expect to shoot from 10th to top 6 in one season. Maybe a few years ago when the league was weaker that was the case, but the league is getting tougher year on year. We finished with four more points than last season, which considering the competition is, for me, acceptable.

[sunburyboy]

Mike Mahew returning home to NZ.

[SirBurger]

End of season awards last night. The following won:

Scott Steele - Young player of the season
Ofisa Treviranus - Players player of the season
George Skivington - Player of the season

Not surprised by the first two. Steele has been very good and Ofisa had a very good season, even though he missed chunks - players will always respect the guys who will keep running through brick walls for the rest of the team. A little surprised by Skivington as he didn't have the best season by his standards and there were other credible candidates in my opinion. However, I guess it is a strong reflection of the esteem he is held in by the coaching panel.

[SirBurger]

Also, Lewington won try of the season. I'm guessing for his effort against Sale. Cowan's against Sarries, Lewington's against Exeter or Andy Short's against Wasps were my best team tries though.

[Irish Londoner]

Per Muppet London Irish are going to play their 2016 season St. Patricks Day game in New York !

I trust they'll be paying the fares of the supporters of both teams involved?

[Ozzy3213]

Why would they be paying the supporters air fares IL? Do they normally subsidise you to get to games?

[Jimpy]

Per Muppet London Irish are going to play their 2016 season St. Patricks Day game in New York !

I trust they'll be paying the fares of the supporters of both teams involved?

I think there are plans to hold a separate St Patrick's Day fixture at the Mad Stad as well.

[Ozzy3213]

There are indeed Jimpy.

[SirBurger]

If any other club was doing this I would be extremely jealous. Thankfully they aren't and we are the ones trying something new for once. Very pleased with this news!

[Irish Londoner]

Why would they be paying the supporters air fares IL?  Do they normally subsidise you to get to games?

Well they do run a bus from Reading to the Mad Stad
Was just hoping they could do something similar only with wings

I can see where they are coming from on this as anything "Irish" will go gangbusters in New York, but I'l wait and see if anything concrete comes of it - for a start how the opposition will feel about doing it.

[Jimpy]

Why would they be paying the supporters air fares IL?  Do they normally subsidise you to get to games?

Well they do run a bus from Reading to the Mad Stad
Was just hoping they could do something similar only with wings

I can see where they are coming from on this as anything "Irish" will go gangbusters in New York, but I'l wait and see if anything concrete comes of it - for a start how the opposition will feel about doing it.

I would have thought Boston would be a more obvious choice... but still, a nice idea.

[HongKongCherry]

I'm quite surprised by the response on here to the NY game proposal. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the St. Patrick's game is your biggest game of the season; if Glaws had moved the home game against Bath thousands of miles away I'd be pretty peeved! Surely this game won't help build the support at the Mad Stad? Sarries have received a lot of unfair criticism for some of the initiatives they have tried, so new ideas shouldn't be mocked, but I do feel initiatives that penalise your core support can't help.

[George Carlin]

End of season awards last night. The following won:

Scott Steele - Young player of the season
Ofisa Treviranus - Players player of the season
George Skivington - Player of the season

Not surprised by the first two. Steele has been very good and Ofisa had a very good season, even though he missed chunks - players will always respect the guys who will keep running through brick walls for the rest of the team. A little surprised by Skivington as he didn't have the best season by his standards and there were other credible candidates in my opinion. However, I guess it is a strong reflection of the esteem he is held in by the coaching panel.

Us Scotland fans are very interested in the progress of young Master Steele.

Whilst his progress in a national jersey might be impeded by the rise and rise of Sam Clyne at Edinburgh (Rabo young player of the season this year), he is only a couple of serious injuries away from coming into the reckoning. Laidlaw is often a ponderous liability in the loose, Pyrgos is technically very good but not especially exciting, Ali Price doesn't get as much game time as Steele and Hart is still an unknown quality.

We all want to see him kick on with Irish and he seems to be happy there and maturing nicely.

[SirBurger]

HKC - the difference is that you own your own stadium, pack it out most weeks and are financially in a much better position than us.

Irish on the other hand don't have that same luxury. We HAVE to find new ways of expanding our presence and raising revenues. Although our brand may not be that recognised as things stand, we are in a fairly unique position to tap into the US market due to the fact that almost everyone in Boston/NY/Chicago claim to have some sort of Irish heritage!

A fair few of our own fans on other boards have reacted negatively, but for me we have to give this a shot. I am sure that there is also a correlation between being able to attract more star players in recruitment and attempting this kind of thing. It is a sign of an ambitious club on the move, trying to innovate and better itself. A year or two ago (before the new board took over) we could only have dreamt of such possibilities and that is why I am enthusiastic about it as things stand.

[SirBurger]

GC

Steele isn't especially exciting either, although there was a clear attempt by him to add to this element of his game towards the end of the season and I believe he acknowledged such attempts in various interviews. He does the basics really well though and has a good box kick, pass and is a tenacious young lad. Really impressed by him and looking forward to him develop further. SHC looks like a really top prospect but Steele will have international honours by the end of 2016 I am sure.

[HongKongCherry]

Thanks Burger. I think that's a fair point regarding recruitment and I agree that its better to try than do nothing at all. It's just a shame the loyal fan will have to sacrifice the top game to achieve this, but if it is for the long term good then I imagine most would.

[SirBurger]

The thing I meant to add HKC is that I think there are still plans to have a St Patrick's Day match in Reading...I'm not 100% sure on that though. Fingers crossed.

[Jimpy]

Thanks Burger. I think that's a fair point regarding recruitment and I agree that its better to try than do nothing at all. It's just a shame the loyal fan will have to sacrifice the top game to achieve this, but if it is for the long term good then I imagine most would.

As has already been said, LI still plan to hold a 'home' St Patrick's Day fixture as close to the 17th of March as the overseas version will allow.

[SirBurger]

Good to see Ofisa Treviranus named as Samoa captain. I seem to remember last summer some on the Newcastle thread stating that Andy Saull was better than him ...not that I hold a grudge or anything!

For a reasonably unfashionable club it will be good to see a fairly big London Irish contingent at this year's World Cup: Franks, Aulika, Treviranus, Sinclair, Cowan, Maitland, Tikoirotuma. I imagine all of those guys will make their team's final cut, but hopefully we won't be too adversely affected as our depth is now a lot better than in previous years. Sadly it seems like Steele won't be back fit for the start of the season...

1. Court
2. Paice
3. Palframan
4. Symons
5. Skivington
6. Trayfoot
7. Gilsenan
8. Guest

9. McKibbin
10. Goode
11. Lewington
12. Mulchrone
13. Griffin
14. Ojo
15. Fenby

Bench: Cruse, Smallbone, Cross, Rouse, Sisi/Narraway, Allinson, Geraghty, Fowlie

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