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

[SirBurger]

Ah right, good if that's the case. Assumed he was one more than a one year deal, although I know the length wasn't mentioned when he signed.

Like the look of him, massive energy around the park.

Yea, I thought the same as you, but possibly it was just one year.

Anyway, it might not be, but I just remembered it. Apologies for not twigging earlier!

[SirBurger]

Would be pleased if it's Gilsenan. I'd personally have him in a first choice back row along with Trev and Cowan with Guest to come off the bench. Still think we should of hung onto Hala'ufia for another year or two though

Guest is really starting to come good for me. Treviranus is a real weapon, but I think he lacks the control at the base of Guest/Narraway, so prefer him at flanker. Gilsenan is coming along very nicely though. A real workhorse.

[Margin_Walker]

Yeah, Cowan, Trev, Guest has a very nice balance for me. All fairly multi-positional as well, so lots of options for the make up of the bench.

Hala'ufia's go forward will always be missed Radox, but he was beginning to struggle for fitness and I think it was the right time to let him go.

[SirBurger]

Hala'ufia's go forward will always be missed Radox, but he was beginning to struggle for fitness and I think it was the right time to let him go.

I agree - my favourite ever player to have worn green but the time was right.

[Ozzy3213]

So rumours as per yesterdays TRP...

Sisi on loan for next season
Patrick Osborne from the Highlanders
Talking to Matt Symons


From comments from Bob Casey at the after match STH meeting, most fans are taking it that Symons is a done deal.

[Radox For Men]

Hala'ufia's go forward will always be missed Radox, but he was beginning to struggle for fitness and I think it was the right time to let him go.

I agree - my favourite ever player to have worn green but the time was right.

Still think he has something to offer coming off the bench (more so than Narraway, anyway) for the last 20 even if he can't play the full 80 anymore. Having a huge ball carrier like him could've been the difference that got us over the line against Leicester.

[SirBurger]

I think we do lack big ball carriers generally and I'm not sure that we will have that many more next season either.

I'm hoping that having Osborne (hopefully) coming in off his wing might help slightly in that regard but I think transfer targets for 2016/17 will be to add more punch at Number 8 and centre in terms of carrying.

[Ozzy3213]

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8cwpKAVacRXNUVxZHNYZEhPd28/edit?pli=1

Interview with Alex Lewington yesterday.

[Ozzy3213]

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8cwpKAVacRXbmJfeGpzdEdZSlU/edit?pli=1

Interview with Conor Gilsenan yesterday.

[SirBurger]

Really good stuff. Both come across very well for young guys. Blair is still top dog, but for me his form dipped a little post Autumn and it is great to have competition from Conor.

[Ozzy3213]

My thoughts as well SB. Trev, Blair and Tom is our best back row, with Conor off the bench I reckon.

[SirBurger]

My thoughts as well SB.   Trev, Blair and Tom is our best back row,  with Conor off the bench I reckon.    

Definitely. I have actually been increasingly impressed with Guest. I was far from convinced at the start of the season, but since his return to the team post injury he has really looked the part.

Big game against Welsh this weekend - definitely a potential banana skin. I hope that the weather holds up and we go out and attack them from the off.

I hope we see:

1. Court
2. Paice
3. Halavatau (guessing Aulika is still out)
4. Skivington
5. Sinclair
6. Treviranus
7. Gilsenan
8. Guest

9. Steele
10. Geraghty
11. Fowlie
12. Griffin
13. Mulchrone
14. Lewington (Topsy out?)
15. Fenby

Bench: Stevens, Parr, Palframan, Rouse, Narraway, Allinson, Noakes, Short (either!)

[Irish Londoner]

Is 2015-16 going to be the first season where our ambitions stretch further than being one place above the relegated side?

[Ozzy3213]

I'd say so IL. Ambition for next season will to be well clear of the relegation scrap and in contention for a top 6 finish. Is going to be a seriously competitive league next year though, the new guys coming in are going to need to hit the ground running as a bad start to the season could well spell disaster.

[SirBurger]

Yes I think so, although I had hopes of being top 7 for this season. A few injuries and a couple of guys underperforming sadly.

[Ozzy3213]

I had us down for 8th at the start of the season. Would need a massive run in and for Quins and Glaws to falter for that to happen now, but I don't think it was unrealistic if you actually analyse our results and performances this season. Being realistic, we could easily have 10 more points from the games against Saracens (h), Saints (a) and Gloucester (h), but for a couple of borderline refereeing calls and a misfiring lineout. We'd then be on 33 points and above Gloucester and Falcons , tucked in behind Quins in 9th place. It' really small margins in this league, and will be even smaller next season I reckon.

[Irish Londoner]

Ozzy, I think top six is a big ask, although the new owners are putting their money where their mouths are and we are certainly capable of getting further up the table from where we have been for the last few seasons.
More concerned that a resurgent and wealthy Brizzle or Wuzzer coming up are not likely to go straight back down like London Welsh.

[Ozzy3213]

Indeed IL, the promoted club will undoubtedly be stronger than London Welsh have been this season.

[Driver]

London Welsh are the worst side to have played in the premiership i'v ever seen. 

It's a shame for there die hard fans who spent years watching them at Old Deer.

I think Irish will kick on next year and really get going.

[SirBurger]

London Welsh are the worst side to have played in the premiership i'v ever seen. 

It's a shame for there die hard fans who spent years watching them at Old Deer.

I think Irish will kick on next year and really get going.

Thanks Driver - I hope so too. Out of interest though, who do you see us overtaking? Lots of other sides are also strengthening (including your own!)

Interestingly, Bob Casey is the guest in the Rugby Tonight studio this evening and apparently has some big breaking news to announce.

[Radox For Men]

London Welsh are the worst side to have played in the premiership i'v ever seen. 

It's a shame for there die hard fans who spent years watching them at Old Deer.

I think Irish will kick on next year and really get going.

Thanks Driver - I hope so too. Out of interest though, who do you see us overtaking? Lots of other sides are also strengthening (including your own!)

Interestingly, Bob Casey is the guest in the Rugby Tonight studio this evening and apparently has some big breaking news to announce.

I was thinking this myself - both Newcastle and LI seem set to be much stronger next year but who are we going to overtake? Genuinely wouldn't be that surprised to see quins or gloucester come 11th, but then they're both probably also capable of top four. It'll be an absolute stinker of a year for a championship team to come up, but if it's Bristol then they'll surely have the quality to make a decent fist of it. I'd imagine a situation like the top 14 this year is likely, where even the teams at the bottom of the table have a decent amount of wins.

[SirBurger]

Absolutely Radox - I think the league will increasingly look like the Top 14.

I also do wonder if expanding to a 14 team league and then ring-fencing isn't too far off the agenda.

[Radox For Men]

I hope not, would be a shame to scrap relegation just as it gets more interesting. Even when LI have been in real danger of relegation I've never wanted it to be got rid of

[SirBurger]

I agree with you on that.

2 new coaches announced on BT Sport:

Clark Laidlaw - Brother of Greig and an assistant coach at the Hurricanes coming in as attack/skills

Grant Doorey - Defence coach at the Blues

Both have had a variety of roles though in both attack and defence and it sounds like they will be chipping in across the board.

[SirBurger]

Sounds like Treviranus may have an injury - in which case Blair may be required to play this weekend.

[Ozzy3213]

If Trev didn't have an injury, he sure does now. Huge player for us and I pray he's fit for the quarter final.

Despite the defeat I thought there were some real positives yesterday. Fowlie looks the real deal, and Tom Guest has now made the number 8 jersey his own. Scrum went really well and good to see James Short get on the scoresheet.

On the negative side, once Trev and Halani had gone off we lacked carriers, the lineout was again poor and shane had an off day both with his passing and his kicking from hand. Plenty to work on in training over the next fortnight before 2 huge games back to back for the team.

[SirBurger]

Gutted about Trev. Did it look like a bad injury Ozzy? I question our ability to win without him.

[Ozzy3213]

Difficult to say. I'll try to find out what the score is with him during the week. Will be a big miss if he doesn't make the quarter final.

[SirBurger]

I guess Trayfoot and Sisi should put us in a stronger position when Trev is out next season. Both are solid carriers.

[SirBurger]

Osborne no longer coming - I imagine we are in the hunt for another back three player in that case. Some really talented players in the SH - hope we are in talks with some of them and this hasn't set us back.

[Geordie]

Well we have quite a big game next weekend...you looking forward to it?

[Heaf]

The St. Pat's match is always one to look forward to - you coming down GF?

[Geordie]

Im going to try to get down mate. Either way ill be watching it though.

At least neither of us are going down

[Heaf]

Yes that makes it a bit easier to enjoy

[Geordie]

Hopefully we'll both just open up and play plenty of attacking rugby.

Could be a good game.

[Jimpy]

Indeed IL, the promoted club will undoubtedly be stronger than London Welsh have been this season.  

Oh dear Lord, how could anyone possibly be worse!?

[SirBurger]

What do you guys make of Franks playing at #3 so far this season? He has gone pretty well for the Hurricanes. I must admit I thought we would be using him more in the loosehead shirt, but watching his scrummaging (and the dip in form of Cross), I am wondering if the following may actually be our best scrummaging props:

1. Court
3. Franks

I guess Franks' ability to cover both sides is a real bonus. I hope next season that Aulika can return to the form of 2012/13. Encouragingly, I am starting to see glimpses.

[SirBurger]

Low confirmed to Glasgow.

[Margin_Walker]

What do you guys make of Franks playing at #3 so far this season? He has gone pretty well for the Hurricanes. I must admit I thought we would be using him more in the loosehead shirt, but watching his scrummaging (and the dip in form of Cross), I am wondering if the following may actually be our best scrummaging props:

1. Court
3. Franks

I guess Franks' ability to cover both sides is a real bonus. I hope next season that Aulika can return to the form of 2012/13. Encouragingly, I am starting to see glimpses.

Sorry only just saw this. Franks certainly seems to be spending a fair bit of time at TH this season and looked very solid in the game I saw him play there (see he gave a few pens away at the weekend though). I'd agree that we may see the setup above, especially against teams we often struggle with in the set piece like Leicester. That said, Court will be a year older and a role off the bench will probably be a better fit.

Low to Glasgow isn't a big surprise really.

[SirBurger]

I think that is probably spot on MW - with Franks(1) and Aulika (3) probably our best option for when we want to go for a strong pairing in the loose.

Anyone heard anything regarding the new winger now the Osborne deal is off? I still have hopes of TNW although he doesn't really fit the mould of Osborne and arguably is better at 13 or 15 than on the wing.

[Driver]

The St. Pat's match is always one to look forward to - you coming down GF?

When is it? Is there a bus on GF?

[Margin_Walker]

TNW would be awesome, but I think if he was on the market (and open to going to LI), he would have been our first target as a more high profile centre option than Waldouck. Could be wrong though. Think we'll likely see a specialist wing come in, although you are obviously shopping from a smaller pool in March than you are in Jan/Feb.

[Heaf]

I thought I'd seen a report he'd re-signed with Chiefs?

[Heaf]

The St. Pat's match is always one to look forward to - you coming down GF?

When is it? Is there a bus on GF?

Saturday ...

[Margin_Walker]

I thought I'd seen a report he'd re-signed with Chiefs?

Don't remember seeing that. It may have happened though.

[Heaf]

I may have imagined it - hopefully I did and we can get him ...

[Heaf]

Symons announced - excellent news

[Margin_Walker]

Good news. Providing one of the Tightheads finds some form next year, we should have a very solid front 5.

Assuming Symons hits the ground running I could see him with the captaincy maybe the season after next.

[SirBurger]

Very good signing and as MW says means that the front five should be fairly solid. That should allow the back row to carry a bit more punch next season as well. According to Chris Egerton on BBC Berks a few more to come as well.

[LondonTiger]

I guess the problem for all the teams is that everyone else seems to be moving forward too. I know that in the summer there was a lot of optimism amongst LI fans for thsi season but in the end it looks not dissimilar to last.

Looks like a good signing though - and for me much more needed than Maitland.

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