London Irish 2014/15 Thread

[Ozzy3213]

  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

[Ozzy3213]

Squad and preview added.

[westisbest]

Looking forward to seeing how Griffin does in the Prem.

He is a decent player.

[SirBurger]

Ozzy - just an oversight on the exclusion of Johnny Harris or do you know something we don't?

[Ozzy3213]

Oversight!   


Now rectified.

[SirBurger]

Oversight!   


Now rectified.

  

[SirBurger]

And good work by the way  ...

[SirBurger]

I have a bit more time to reply now. I largely agree with your optimism. 8th would be a great achievement. We are stronger than last year but so is everyone else bar possibly Exeter.

The new signing I'm most excited about is Sean Cox. I think it has gone slightly under the radar but he will add something in terms of leadership, hardness and at the set piece. Leo will prove to be another fantastic addition to the pack in terms of carrying.

Fowlie and Ellis as you point out are my two big hopes for next season. This isn't necessarily the side I expect to see start the season, but I hope that by the end of the year the 23 looks something like:

Court
Paice
Aulika
Cox
Skivington
Treviranus
Cowan
Guest

Steele
Geraghty
Fenby
Griffin
Fowlie
Ojo
Homer

Ellis, Smallbone, Cross, Leo, Narraway, O'Leary, Noakes, Lewington

[Ozzy3213]

Looking forward to seeing how the youngsters go in the 7's tonight.

[ChequeredJersey]

Good luck to you alls this season, especially Guesty. Hope he he's the starting spot he's wanted, and a chance to show most of the non-Quins fans what a player he is! I reckon your pack is pretty good this year

[SirBurger]

Good luck to you alls this season, especially Guesty. Hope he he's the starting spot he's wanted, and a chance to show most of the non-Quins fans what a player he is! I reckon your pack is pretty good this year

Thank you and same to the Quins fans. I am looking forward to seeing what Guest can do as well. He will have a battle with Narraway (plus Treviranus and Leo are also handy in the 8 shirt), but I reckon Guest may edge it for the majority of matches. We will have to see though. It is always good to have competition.

[Ozzy3213]

Cheers CJ. Good luck too your boys as well, just not when you play us! ;-)

I can see Trev playing more as a flanker this season, with Guest and Narraway specialist 8's and also Jon Fisher to come back. Good that we actually have some options this season.

Thought our youngsters did ok in the 7's tonight. Cameron Cowell looked pacy and has a great step, but will need to put on a bit of bulk if he wants to make it in the Premiership.

[SirBurger]

I agree that Trev should be used more at flanker this season. However, if we do go for a big 6 in some games (i.e Low, Jebb or Leo) then I wouldn't rule out seeing him at 8. He is probably a more destructive carrier than either Narraway or Guest.

[Ozzy3213]

I have removed Jon Fisher and Pat Phibbs from the squad list, as they were both absent from the team photo call yesterday and there are strong rumours that neither have been able to recover from the long term injuries that saw them miss all of last season.

Also abent and unaccounted for were Losi and Jonny Harris. Rumours have been floating around for a while now that although he has left the Stormers Losi wasn't back training with the club, while I have no news on Harris.

None of these guys would be first choice for us, but if they are all gone it does leave us light numbers wise. Some sort of announcement from the club would be a good thing.

[SirBurger]

I'm not too worried myself Ozzy. Phibbs is the biggest loss of those but Steele looks like a more than decent replacement with a bit more pace about him...

Fisher is a great player potentially but when you look at our options it is hard to imagine him being a regular starter or even in the 23, although he seems well regarded. I'm more disappointed for him on a personal level as he is still young and a great bloke. I was also at school with him before he went to Wellington.

Losi would be a loss but we have other options and maybe it is time to move on. He has been one of my favourite players though.

Harris probably needs a season on loan to get some game time. I was disappointed with him last year.

Although that leaves us a bit light in terms of senior players Ellis, Palf, Smallbone and Fowlie will all be competing for spots in the 23 next season from the academy. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two others challenge as well.

[Ozzy3213]

Harris does need to get some game time, but I would prefer if he is going to a Championship club that it be on dual registration rather than on loan, as it would leave us with only two senior specialist looseheads in Court and Parr, with Smallbone backing them up.  

Ellis by all accounts has gone well out in Australia at hooker and I fully expect him to be first choice back up to David Paice at the start of the season and potentially overtake him by the end.  Unless Halani or Leo end up playing loosehead I don't see Palf getting much time in the number 3 jersey, although the other potential scenario is that we've converted him to loosehead where he would be likely to get more playing time.

Fowlie I can see fighting for a wing spot early season, particularly if Losi is on the way out, but long term I want to see him in the 13 jersey for us.

It will be interesting to see who runs out against Montpellier on Saturday, as according to Get Reading we are taking 30 players and replacing the whole starting XV at half time.

[SirBurger]

Palf can play all three front row positions according to an interview with BS last summer and as you point out Leo and Halani can cover there. I'm not too worried therefore.

I think Ellis will be in the 23 by the end of the season, less sure of at the start. Paice is one of the first names on the team sheet for me and is an important leader for us (I believe he is vice captain for next season) so I think Ellis may have to wait another season or two before taking over from him. The worry with Ellis is obviously that he only renewed for a season so he will obviously be wanting game time.

Hopefully for Grenoble we will run with two competitive sides. I wonder if there are any highlights available via French TV...

[Ozzy3213]

premiershiprugby.com article

London Irish Academy Director Nick Kennedy has named his squad of 12 for the Premiership Rugby 7s Series finals day at the Stoop on Friday evening.

1. Simon Hunt 2. Connor Murphy 3.Ollie Curry (C) 4. Patrick O'Grady 5. Will Harries 6. Ollie Williams 7. Cam Cowell 8. Johnny Williams 9. Jamie Hearn 10. Theo Brophy-Clews 11. Declan Williams 12. Ollie Adams

Really excited to see some more of the youngsters. I thought Cam Cowell looked really good last week, and really want to see what Brophy-Clews can do as the kid is a definite talent.

[SirBurger]

Squad for Montpellier:

Hooker: Mayhew, Stevens
Prop: Parr, Court, Cross, Halavatau
Lock: Rouse, Skivington, Leo, Sinclair
Back Row: Berry, Cowan, Treviranus, Gilsenen, Narraway, Guest
Scrum Half: Allinson, Steele
Fly Half: Geraghty, Dorrian
Centre: Sheridan, Neal, Fowlie, Mulchrone
Wing: Fenby, Short, Ojo
Full Back: Homer, Lewington

A nice mixture there although obviously missing a few notable players. It looks like the game is on French TV so hopefully there will be a stream which is a nice bonus.

[Ozzy3213]

Looking forward to seeing the new guys get a first hit out in green.  Particularly want to see how Tom Court and Geoff Cross go up front.

[Notch]

Good interview with Tom Court;

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/sport/tom-court-i-want-to-help-london-irish-get-back-to-where-they-should-be

[Sam]

Playing last years top 4 teams in the first 5 games of your season - ouch!

Hope Guest gets some regular game time, disappointed we let him go with Mo leaving and Easter not getting any younger.

[Ozzy3213]

It would be difficult to imagine a much tougher start to the season for us Sam, but hopefully the team will see it as a challenge and it will be one that they rise to.


Was also a fairly tough night for us at the 7's, I thought we got bullied by Leicester in the final, which was pretty one sided.  That said I have been impressed with Conor Murphy and Cam Cowell who have both looked really lively in the 7's, hopefully they can bring that to the 15-a-side game and both get some playing time in the LV Cup and perhaps some bench time in the European Challenge Cup.

[Ozzy3213]

Good interview with Tom Court;

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/sport/tom-court-i-want-to-help-london-irish-get-back-to-where-they-should-be

He comes across well.  I'm very optimistic about his signing, I think he could do very well us.

[Ozzy3213]

12-7 up at HT in our friendly with Montpellier. Some rustiness as expected but we've played at a decent tempo and score doesn't really reflect the possession and territory that we've had. we have butchered a couple of really good chances, but overall a very positive 40 minutes.

[Notch]

So this is a weird thing, this pre-season tournament; London Irish are playing Montpellier, then Grenoble are playing Harlequins in a double header...

...then after the two games are over, the crowd votes for who was the best team and they get a trophy at the end of it. There's no final or anything. Just a big old vote off. The tournament structure of the future, today!

I hope they don't bring this in in Europe, you know, because the blydi Munster fans will vote them to glory every year even if they lose!   

[SirBurger]

True Notch - think we are relying on a Quins victory because there's no chance the home crowd are going to vote for us if it comes down to us or them!

Great opener for Irish. We played with aggression in defence, were reasonably solid at the set piece and showed some good invention in attack. New signings Short and Steele were very exciting. The only downside was Court going off injured early on. My predicted starting XV has probably shifted slightly after that, but I am sure it will change again before the start of the season:

Parr
Paice
Aulika
Skivington
Rouse
Treviranus
Cowan
Guest

O'Leary
Geraghty
Fenby
Sheridan
Mulchrone
Short
Homer

Bench: Mayhew, Smallbone, Cross, Leo, Narraway, Steele, Dorrian, Fowlie

I hope that Court's injury isn't too bad though and hopefully Cox, Griffin, Ellis etc are all pushing hard for a place in the 23 come September.

[Ozzy3213]

Well pleased with that as first hit out.

Steele was excellent. Played with real tempo, getting to the breakdown quickly and has a nice fizzing pass. We were noticably slower away when Allinson came on, although part of that was due to the back up pack not securing the ball as well.

Short has some serious gas and knows the way to the tryline which is great, and I though Tom Guest looked assured in the first half. I also thought Fergus Mulchrone looked as if he has stepped up his game from last season, possibly due to competition from Eoin Griffin, which if so can only be a good thing.

[SirBurger]

Yea I have to say that seeing Sheridan and Mulchrone together in the first half reminded me just how much they bring to the side in terms of work-rate, tackle count and very low error counts. I think obviously at some point we will need to evolve and it is fantastic that we have Fowlie, Armitage and Griffin to bring something different and to add competition, but it may well be that BS sticks with those two as the incumbents and if they keep performing as they have done then you can't really blame him.

[Ozzy3213]

Hopefully one or two of the guys who didn't feature yesterday will get a run out in the next one.  Also hope that the injury to Tom Court isn't serious and the club puts out some sort of update pretty quickly.

[Ozzy3213]

Get Reading report on the win over Montpellier

Apparently Tom Court has a slight strain and went off as a precaution, and we picked up no other injuries, which is great news.

[SirBurger]

Very reassuring.

Martyn Thomas was the guy who came on at 15 - on trial apparently.

[Ozzy3213]

Is that the ex Dragon and Gloucester full back?

[SirBurger]

That's right. Not a bad option to have if we make it permanent.

[Ozzy3213]

Yeah, he wouldn't be a bad squad player to be honest.  I though Tom Homer looked pretty sharp yesterday.

[SirBurger]

Lots of good stuff in the Rugby Paper today.

Sheridan confirms that the Munster chat was all speculation and there was nothing ever on the cards.

Good feature with Tom Court. Says he has never been in an environment like ours and can't wait to get going.

Glenn Delaney also has a feature and confirms that Harris is still with us, but also, interestingly, mentions that Hagan will be playing on the 'left side' of the scrum with Parr and Court.

[Ozzy3213]

I might pick up a copy tomorrow. Very interesting about Hagan, but not wholly surprising. His scrummaging at tighthead is not great, and he may well be better suited to the loosehead side, time will tell I guess.

[SirBurger]

He's not the biggest lad so it may make sense to move him over. It is a shame that his scrummaging has yet to be up to scratch as he has a very good workrate.

[Ozzy3213]

Yeah, he's decent around the park. Quite tall for a prop and doesn't quite have the width to match his height. Will be very interesting to see how he goes.

[Ozzy3213]

New website up today... http://www.london-irish.com/ along with the launch of the new kit and online store... http://www.oneills.com/shop-by-team/rugby/rugby-union/london-irish.html

[Ozzy3213]

Losi confirmed to Wasps and Fish on trial at Saints. Wish them both the best of luck for the future.

[exileray]

we (irish) really do need to bring in a quality winger being without the following O'Connor tagi and marland. there must be some cash about to bring in a big name, let's hope brian is thinking the same way.

ray.

[Ozzy3213]

I'm not convinced that a big name is necessarily what the club or team needs right now.  I saw enough from our wingers against Montpellier to believe that if they are given decent ball they have enough about them to score tries in the Premiership.  

This squad is more about unity and team ethic than star quality and I think that will and should be the blueprint moving forwards.  If we do bring in another player, and it is a top class performer, I would rather it be in the pack than in the back three.

[SirBurger]

I agree with Ozzy that I am happy with our resources in the back three, particularly at wing. They may not be the biggest names but I still rate Ojo, Short, Fenby, Fowlie and Lewington as a set of wingers to rival that of most other sides. If we were to add extra quality then I think either a really good player to compete with Homer at full back, or alternatively another strong loosehead would be my favoured areas to target. I really rate Court and Parr was also very good for us last season, but I do worry slightly about TC's durability over a long season.

[SirBurger]

Having said that, I am happy with what we have and think our squad looks strong across the board.

[Ozzy3213]

Will be interesting to see what happens at loosehead SB, and whether Hagan does end up appearing on that side of the scrum.  I'll be interested to see who starts in the back three in the remaining two friendlies.  Sentiment says Topsy to start in the 14 jersey, but in terms of current try scoring threat I wonder whether Fenby and Short might be our best bet as starters.

[SirBurger]

Agree with those two based on the Montpellier game. Only slight doubt is that both seem to prefer the 11 shirt.

[Ozzy3213]

That is true, although I am pretty sure that I have seen Short playing on the right wing before.  Can't wait for Friday and the game with Bristol.  Really interested to see what sort of side we put out.

[Ozzy3213]

Sailosi Tagicakibau tries

[Ozzy3213]

I'm interviewing Topsy Ojo and Tom Court tomorrow if anybody has any questions for either of them?

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