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

[Geordie]

It will certainly be interesting to see where we both are with regards to any improvments we both think we may have made...or not made in certain of the Falcons cases

I admit the performance v Leicester encouraged me more than the pre season games had.

[SirBurger]

I admit the performance v Leicester encouraged me more than the pre season games had.

Certainly better to be that way around as opposed to the way most of us are feeling!

[Geordie]

Very true.

[Ozzy3213]

Quins are one of the hardest defences to break down. They were 2nd in least tries conceded last season. You have to take that into account when looking at irish's inability to break them down.

I agree in part with that beshocked, but I also feel that when up against strong defensive teams you have to take any advantage you can get, which is why I was furious that we kicked for goal rather than going to the corner when they had two forwards in the sin bin and were playing with 13.

[Ozzy3213]

I was apoplectic when we kicked for goal when they were down to 13 men.  It was beyond conservative and I never had us pegged as that sort of side.

The centres are an issue.  I remember saying on the craic a couple of months back that I'd like to see a pairing of Griffin and Armitage and people were outraged saying Sheridan was one of our best players last year.  He was, and he has many fine qualities, not least his defensive ability,  ut he needs to improve his distribution as a fair few attacks faltered with him in the 12 channel yesterday.

I have no issue with BS opting for Sheridan - he went well in pre-season and was a rock for us in defence last season. However, last season we had Yarde and JOC who could create stuff from nothing. We don't have the luxury of being able to carry players who don't and can't create anything in attack. To be honest, though, it isn't even his distribution that bothers me, it is his lack of impact when carrying. For a player of his size he should be making so many more metres and generating quick ball for us. Due to a lack of pace he is stopped more easily than he should be and the resulting ball is slowed up.

Welly - Steele was pretty poor sadly. Again, I think it was the right call to go for him, but the occasion got the better of him. TOL to return to the starting side for what is a huge game against Newcastle.

Court
Paice
Aulika
Skivington
Leo
Cowan
Trev
Narraway (in for the extra leadership he brings - Guest was another slight disappointment to be honest)

TOL
Noakes
Fenby
Geraghty
Mulchrone
Short
Lewington

If the other options at 13 were fit and firing I would be tempted to move Fergus back to full back as he looks the most solid defensively and under the high ball. However, Griffin probably won't be ready in time, Armitage still isn't right from the little I have seen and I would worry about Fowlie's lack of experience if paired with Shane.

I'm not sure I would make too many changes.  There is always merit in the argument of sending the same guys out and telling them to redeem themselves.  The main areas I would contemplate changes for this weekend are in the centre and at full back.  We need some creativity, and we need a full back who is better there than Topsy is.  You could see on the first try that he got caught in a poor position and did what he would do as the last defender out wide and came up for the intercept.  If he'd held a better position that try was preventable.  

I would send out the same pack again, with a back line of 9. Steele 10. Noakes 11. Fenby 12. Geraghty 13. Sheridan 14. Short 15. Lewington.

[SirBurger]

I think you are right - I was probably being a bit knee-jerk there. I actually think sticking with Sheridan and Mulchrone in the centres may be what is required for the Newcastle game as Socino apparently looked a real threat against Leicester and we will need to contain him.

[Ozzy3213]

We do, but we also need to create, hence why I would move Shane to 12 to give us a second playmaker.  Shane's defence is solid enough as well, so I don't have any worries about him in that regard.  I always feel that our best form of defence is attack anyway.  Part of why we were under the cosh on Saturday was that we never got going in attack in the first 40 minutes.  If we'd strung some meaningful plays together it would have relieved some of the pressure.

[SirBurger]

A fair point. I think Griffin will hopefully offer the best of both worlds when he is available - he has a fantastic passing game. Fingers crossed he has some involvement in tonight's A League match. I hope the side is announced soon as I will make the trip down if it is a strong side.

[Ozzy3213]

I'm off to interview Blair Cowan at half 11, so if anyone has any questions for him let me know.

[Ozzy3213]

Tom Homer has a grade 2 MCL sprain and is out for a minimum of 8 weeks. The lad just can't seem to catch a break recently.

[Geordie]

So whats your thoughts on the game then gents.

Where will the game be won or lost between us?

[SirBurger]

I really hope we are on the look out for a specialist full back to come in. I know that a lot of Homer's problems are down to bad luck, but I think he really needs to be eased back in and probably spend the remainder of the season trying to get back to his best. I think there is too much expectation and pressure on him as things stand.

[SirBurger]

So whats your thoughts on the game then gents.

Where will the game be won or lost between us?

Difficult to look beyond the pack. Our backs will need to show more invention than they did against Harlequins though. You guys looked sharp against Leicester so it should be a close game. I worry that we just won't show up and you will edge it, but I am generally a bit pessimistic after the Quins game. I hope Noakes plays 10 as Geraghty still lacks the necessary control.

[Geordie]

It will certainly be interesting...

We didnt get on very well with the Refs interpretation of scrummaging down at WR on Saturday...maybe your guys will attack that...or maybe we will be better there.

It may well be that it comes down to who is sharpest in the backs and Socino has looked a great signing for us.

I wouldnt like to say how this one could go.

[SirBurger]

Me neither - but I think it is a very important fixture for both sides. Our win over Wuss in round 2 last season effectively kept us out of a relegation dog fight. Lose on Sunday and I think we will be in one.

[LondonTiger]

Tom Homer has a grade 2 MCL sprain and is out for a minimum of 8 weeks.  The lad just can't seem to catch a break recently.

I feel for the lad. Seems to have been injured for a couple of years now.

[Heaf]

We'll need to overturn the stats SB - the last 7 fixtures between us have apparently gone to the home side - here's hoping we can get a result like in 2010 but I fear that's very unlikely.

[Submachine]

I see Hagan got a start at LH in the A game last night. Any insights into how he went? Particularly at scrum?

[Ozzy3213]

I wasn't at the game but am told by those who were that Hago went quite well at loosehead.  That said, we had Geoff Cross at tighthead and Mike Mayhew hooking, whilst I'm not sure what standard of front row players Welsh had out.

[Ozzy3213]

We'll need to overturn the stats SB - the last 7 fixtures between us have apparently gone to the home side - here's hoping we can get a result like in 2010 but I fear that's very unlikely.

That stat is a little bit misleading though, as only 4 of those 7 games were in Premiership, the other 3 were in the Mickey Mouse Cup which I'm not sure you can put much store by.

In the past 5 seasons there have been 8 league matches between the two sides.  At Kingston Park Falcons have won 2, we've won 1 and 1 was a draw.  The two defeats we suffered were by 2 points last season, and 9 points in the 2011/12 season.  

This will undoubtedly be a tough game as it's almost a must win for both teams, but I fancy us.  I am quietly (or not so quietly really) optimistic about Sunday.

[SirBurger]

I am already incredibly nervous...Lord knows how I will feel come kick off time on Sunday. It wouldn't be such an important game if our next batch of fixtures wasn't so murderous.

[Ozzy3213]

Absolutely.  If we win on Sunday, it will give us confidence and I reckon we might be able to get something out of the Sarries, Tigers and Saints games, particularly the home ones.  If we get beat this week, then I would imagine some doubt will start creeping in.

[Heaf]

All this stress isn't good for my health.

[Ozzy3213]

How long you supported Irish Heaf?  You should be used to it by now. 

[Heaf]

This must be about my 6th or 7th season so I was a bit spoilt as I came along at the high point. Just seen who the TMO is for Sunday too so let's hope we don't get any close calls ...

[SirBurger]

This must be about my 6th or 7th season so I was a bit spoilt as I came along at the high point.  Just seen who the TMO is for Sunday too so let's hope we don't get any close calls ...

Same here mate - started in 05/06 so the last few years have been very stressful!

[Geordie]

Try being a falcons fan...

[Heaf]

Fair point - you've had it rough for a while ... does it get any easier over time?

[Ozzy3213]

The difference is Falcons fans have had it rough, but it's been consistent so I guess you get used to it.  We've been up and down like a prozzy's knickers.  It's the rollercoaster ride that being an Irish fan is that will kill ya.

[Geordie]

Yeah you get used to it

But it means when you see a chink of light that things may be improving it feels all the more better,...but you also dont get too built up as you expect something to go wrong.

The only thing this time is i actually trust Dean Richards. We were poor but survived last season, and he has made some very shrewd signings this summer...and he has got the academy flying again.

Leicester, despite the big scoreline, the performances actually gave me a lot of encouragement for the season.

[Ozzy3213]

Interview with David Paice  http://blog.rugbyunited.info/2014/09/an-interview-with-a-london-irish-legend-by-pete-osborn/

[Ozzy3213]

Blair Cowan interview  http://blog.rugbyunited.info/2014/09/rugbyli-interview-with-blair-cowan-a-good-pre-match-read/

[Ozzy3213]

London Irish A team to face Wasps at Henley tonight.

15. Cameron Cowell; 14. Ross Neal; 13. Guy Armitage; 12. Eoin Griffin; 11. Tom Fowlie; 10. Myles Dorrian (Captain); 9. Darren Allinson; 1. Jamie Hagan; 2. Mike Mayhew; 3. Leo Halavatau; 4. Toby Salmon; 5. Theo Vukasinovic; 6. Ollie Curry; 7. Jimmy Stevens; 8. Anders Nillson

Replacements: 16. Ollie Adams; 17. Tom Smallbone; 18. Richard Palframan; 19. Charlie Stonehill; 20. Harry Watts; 21. Connor Murphy; 22. Theo Brophy-Clews; 23. Matt Noble

[Ozzy3213]

http://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/33065.php#.VBgTfNK-pH4

Good to see we have Blair Cowan, Dan Leo and big Trev up there in the performance stats from the first 2 rounds.

[Ozzy3213]

Just watched Brian Smiths review of the Falcons game and look ahead to the Saracens on eon You Tube.  Can't post the link right now, but very hones tin his assessment in relation to both games.

[Ozzy3213]

Here's our performance in round three in the past 17 seasons....

13/14 - (h) Exeter Chiefs L 23-29
12/13 - (a) London Wasps L 14-43
11/12 - (a) Northampton Saints W 14-13
10/11 - (h) Gloucester W 23-16
09/10 - (a) Leeds Carnegie W 56-7
08/09 - (h) Bath Rugby L 16-20
07/08 - (a) Bristol Rugby L 11-14
06/07 - (a) Newcastle Falcons W 26-21
05/06 - (a) Sale Sharks L 3-29
04/05 - (h) Leicester Tigers L 22-39
03/04 - (a) Harlequins L 10-15
02/03 - (h) Saracens W 32-10
01/02 - (a) Bristol Shoguns D 19-19
00/01 - (h) Saracens W 27-22
99/00 - (a) Bedford Blues W 27-8
98/99 - (h) London Wasps L 24-36
97/98 - (a) Gloucester L 7-29


P 17 W 7 D 1 L 9 F 354 A 341

Two from two against Saracens, would be nice to keep the 100% record this weekend!!!

[Ozzy3213]

So 7 points from our first 3 games is our best start sonce 2010/11 when we took 10 points from games with Saracens (LDH) (5 points), Bath (a) (1 point) and Gloucester (h) (4 points). We finished 6 that season.

[SirBurger]

If we get one more win and 2 LBPs from our remaining fixtures before the European break then I will be really happy. I think that the likes of Court, Skivs, Cowan and Paice will need some serious time off in those weeks as they look like they may end up being flogged a bit at this rate.

The return of Rouse and Cox should give an opportunity for Skivington to have a bit of a break. Parr needs to find some form and Europe will be a great testing ground for Ellis.

[Ozzy3213]

Agree with all of that SB. Also for Europe I would get Geoff Cross in at tighthead, and rest Shane as he looks like he is absolutely crucial to us.

[SirBurger]

Ditto...

Parr
Ellis
Cross
Rouse
Cox
Low
Gilsenan
Narraway

O'Leary
Noakes
Short
Griffin
Armitage
Ojo
Fenby

Or something of that ilk is still a pretty good side for Europe...I think Brian will actually keep it a bit stronger than that and probably just rotate the front row, 9 and Shane.

[Ozzy3213]

So that's 3 points picked up from 2 'home' defeats, and 8 from 2 wins on the road.  Realistically I think we all would have been pretty happy with beating Newcastle and then picking up losing bonus points in the other games to give us 9 at the end of this first block.  The optimists amongst us probably were looking at beating Quins, Falcons and Exeter and picking up bonus points off of the other 3 teams to give us 15.  Either way, it's been a really good start to the season.

Really huge game this week now.  If we can back up the performances in the rounds 3 and 4 with another big one against Saints then that's a real marker laid down for the season.

[George Carlin]

http://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/33065.php#.VBgTfNK-pH4

Good to see we have Blair Cowan, Dan Leo and big Trev up there in the performance stats from the first 2 rounds.

Good for Scotland too, Ozzy - that openside shirt isn't nailed down for anyone and Cowan knows it.

[Ozzy3213]

Blair has been excellent for us again so far this season.  Was BT Sport man of the round this weekend after slowing down Tigers attacking ball all afternoon.  I interviewed him a couple of weeks back and he seems like a really top bloke.

[George Carlin]

He was definitely one of the very best Scott Johnson experiments - as he was based in NZ for so long, he never really featured in the Scotland age group set ups so I hadn't really heard of him until he left Wuss (which probably will be the making of him as a player). He's 28 now, so not a youngfeller, but he is clearly coming into his prime as a player at the moment and is making hay.

Barclay - out of favour, Fusaro - too small, Brown - not an openside, Rennie - burned his bridges choosing Brizzle, Watson - too young/inexperienced. There's an argument that Cowan could be our first choice at 7.

[Ozzy3213]

Love Jebb.  Hope he stays at the club for a very long time.

[Ozzy3213]

Was at Hazelwood yesterday, and interviewed Fergus and Jebb.  Will try to get one up online today and one tomorrow, but I have to say I am more and more impressed with what is going on at the club every time I visit.  It just seems so different to last season, but it's really hard to put your finger on why.  The shiny new training ground helps obviously, as to some quality additions to the squad, but there just seems to be a renewed energy around the place which is great to see.

[Ozzy3213]

http://blog.rugbyunited.info/2014/10/an-interview-with-fergus-mulchrone-by-rugbyli-pete-osborne/

[Ozzy3213]

http://www.london-irish.com/h/news/london-irish-loan-alex-toolis-from-edinburgh-rugby/bp101/

Am slightly worried by our lock options through the AI's.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ur6NKi7QM&list=UUQYMvGMgRj8Yjbdv72hOgXA

Smithy's assessment of the Saints game.

[Ozzy3213]

Contract extension for Fergus Mulchrone...

http://www.london-irish.com/h/news/fergus-mulchrone-extends-contract-with-london-irish/bp106/

[lostinwales]

Resurecting an old thread with news that Smith is leaving now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30795537

[Sponsored content]