London Irish 2016/17 Championship Thread

by **Ozzy3213** Tue 11 Aug 2015, 1:53 pm

First topic message reminder :

Welcome to this seasons thread for talking about all things London Irish. London Irish 2016/17 Championship Thread - Page 16 5

Senior Squad (39)

Technical Director: Brendan Venter
Director of Rugby: Nick Kennedy
Assistant Coach: Clark Laidlaw
Forwards Coach: George Skivington
Defence Coach: Declan Danaher
Skills Coach: Paul Hodgson

Hooker: David Paice, Gerard Ellis, David Porecki, Jason Harris-Wright, Todd Gleave (dual registered with Rosslyn Park).
Prop: Tom Court, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, Tom Smallbone, Ben Franks, Richard Palframan, Ollie Hoskins.
Second Row: Sebastien de Chaves, Jerry Sexton, Jebb Sinclair, George Robson, Will Lloyd.
Back Row: Blair Cowan, Ofisa Treviranus, Luke Narraway, Connor Gilsenen, Joe Trayfoot, Mike Coman, Max Northcote-Green, Senitiki Nayalo.
Scrum Half: Brendan McKibbin, Scott Steele, Darren Allinson (on loan to Bath).
Fly Half: Greig Tonks, Tommy Bell, Theo Brophy-Clews.
Centre: Johnny Williams, Fergus Mulchrone, Ciaran Hearn, Tom Fowlie
Back Three: Topsy Ojo, Alex Lewington, Aseli Tikoirotuama, James Marshall, Ben Ransom

Senior Academy Squad (12)

Hooker: Matt Kouris (dual registered with Esher)
Prop: Harry Elrington (dual registered with Rosslyn Park), Austin Hay (Academy Plus)
Back Row: Isaac Curtis-Harris (dual registered with Esher), Jack Cooke (Academy Plus)
Scrum Half: Conor Murphy, Rory Brand (dual registered with Rosslyn Park)
Fly Half: Tom Parton
Centre: Ross Neal, Matt Williams
Wing: Joe Cokanasiga, Jacob Atkins

Fixture List

Date	Time	Opponents	H/A	Venue	Competition	Result	Scorers

Sat 13th Aug	15:00	Harlequins	A	The Stoop	Friendly	W 28-12	T: Cowan, Neal, Nayolo, Atkins C: Bell 3, Tonks.
Fri 19th Aug	19:30	Nottingham	H	Hazelwood	Friendly	W 43-14
Fri 26th Aug	19:30	Loughborough Students	H	Hazelwood	Friendly	W 46-21
Sat 3rd Sep	15:00	Doncaster Knights	H	MadStad	Championship	W 19-0	T: Fowlie, Tikoroituma P: Bell 3.
Sat 10th Sep	15:00	Richmond	H	MadStad	Championship	W 36-12	T: Paice, Cowan 2, Ellis, McKibbin, Elrington. C: Bell 3.
Sat 17th Sep	15:00	Bedford Blues	A	Goldington Road	Championship	W 30-23	T: Franks, Williams, Ojo, Northcote-Green. C: Bell 2. P: Bell 2.
Sun 25th Sep	15:00	Ealing Trailfinders	H	MadStad	Championship	W 32-12	T: Ransom, Trayfoot, Marshall, Steele C:Bell, Marshall 2 P:Bell 2.
Fri 30th Sep	19:45	Nottingham	A	LadyBay Sports	Championship	W 29-7	T: Steele Tikoroituma Northcote-Green Mulchrone C:Bell 3 P:Bell.
Sat 8th Oct	15:00	London Welsh	H	MadStad	Championship	W 35-12	T: Mulchrone, Paice, de Chaves, McKibbin. C: Bell. 3 P: Bell 3.
Sat 15th Oct	15:00	Ospreys Prem Select	A	The Gnoll	B & I Cup	W 25-14	T: Neal, Ransom, Nayalo, Palframan. C: Tonks. P: Tonks.
Sat 22nd Oct	15:00	Connacht Eagles	H	MadStad	B & I Cup	W 34-3	T: Elrington, Hoskins, Harris-Wright, Parton, Cokanasiga. C: Tonks 3 P: Tonks.
Sat 29th Oct	15:00	London Scottish	A	RAG	Championship	W 62-12	T: Paice, McKibbin, Cokanasiga, Bell 2, Tikoirotuma, Steele, Cowan C: Bell 8, P: Bell 2.
Sat 5th Nov	15:00	Yorkshire Carnegie	H	MadStad	Championship	W 41-17	T: Ransom 2, Tikoirotuma, Marshall 2. C: Bell 5. P: Bell 2.
Sat 19th Nov	13:00	Cornish Pirates	A	Mennaye Field	Championship	W 35-24	T: Ransom 2, Franks 2, Northcote-Green C: Marshall 2. P: Tonks 2.
Sun 27th Nov	15:00	Jersey Reds	H	MadStad	Championship	W 42-29	T: Ransom, Paice 2, Palframan, Fowlie C: Bell 4 P: Bell 2 DG: Bell.
Sat 3rd Dec	14:00	Rotherham Titans	A	Clifton Lane	Championship	W 38-10	T: Cokanasiga 2, Bell 2, Steele. C: Bell 5 P: Bell.
Sun 11th Dec	15:00	Cornish Pirates	H	MadStad	B & I Cup	W 33-24	T: Atkins, Gilsenan, Porecki, Nayalo, M.Williams. C: Tonks 4.
Sat 17th Dec	14:30	Cornish Pirates	A	Mennaye Field	B & I Cup
Sat 24th Dec	15:00	Richmond	A	RAG	Championship
Sat 31st Dec	15:00	Bedford Blues	H	MadStad	Championship
13/14/15 Jan		Connacht Eagles	A		B & I Cup
Sat 21st Jan	15:00	Ospreys Prem Select	H	MadStad	B & I Cup
Sat 28th Jan	15:00	Ealing Trailfinders	A	Vallis Way	Championship
Sun 5th Feb	14:00	Nottingham	H	MadStad	Championship
Sat 18th Feb	14:00	London Welsh	A	Old Deer Park	Championship
Sat 25th Feb	15:00	London Scottish	H	MadStad	Championship
Sun 5th Mar	15:00	Yorkshire Carnegie	A	Headingley	Championship
Sat 18th Mar	14:00	Cornish Pirates	H	MadStad	Championship
Sat 25th Mar	14:00	Jersey Reds	A	St Peter	Championship
Sat 8th Apr	15:00	Rotherham Titans	H	MadStad	Championship
Sat 15th Apr	15:00	Doncaster Knights	A	Castle Park	Championship

Season Preview

Well it's been an interesting summer in the aftermath of relegation. It was clear from the outset that we would lose some players and would have to cut our cloth accordingly. Initially it appeared that Tom Coventry was staying, but a late u-turn from him meant a new coaching set up was required. New coaches, loss of big names, new players to integrate, sounds like a recipe for disaster, and we've certainly been there many times over the past few years. This however, does not feel like that at all. Perhaps it's because we are a league down, but there is real optimism around, primarily because of those things. The holy trinity of Nick Kennedy, Declan Danaher and Paul Hodgson have been promoted to the first team after overseeing a successful academy season last year, and have Brendan Venter overseeing them as technical director. This is exciting. A proven winner overseeing a young, hungry and exciting coaching team. On the playing side, the main losses being Matt Symons and Sean Maitland are more than offset by the likes of George Robson, James Marshall and Tommy Bell coming in. If anything it feels as if we may have a stronger squad this year than we've had for the past 4 or 5.

Two games into pre season and things look positive. Comfortably beating an admittedly understrength Quins, and a high scoring win against Nottingham have given plenty of optimism for the season ahead. There were still defensive lapses, which will need to be ironed out, but barring complacency or an absolute stinker in terms of form, we should have more than enough to comfortably make the dreaded play offs, where it then becomes a test of mental strength rather than ability.

Ozzy'sprediction: Champions

by **Ozzy3213** Wed 04 Jan 2017, 1:19 pm

Booth is an excellent an innovative forwards coach, but failed miserably when promoted into the DoR role. The big question if he was to return as either forwards or head coach would be whether he could work under Kendo as DoR, having previously been his boss.

by SirBurger Wed 04 Jan 2017, 5:44 pm

Ozzy3213 wrote:Booth is an excellent an innovative forwards coach, but failed miserably when promoted into the DoR role. The big question if he was to return as either forwards or head coach would be whether he could work under Kendo as DoR, having previously been his boss.

To be fair, he did take us to a Premiership final, but it was Smithy's team. He got the best out of them though and managed selection well that year (probably helped by the fact it was a small squad and we were lucky with injuries). I do think he cost us the final though by playing Hewat at 15 and Delon at outside centre, ahead of Seveali'i who had worked wonders with Mapusua all season. Once the Smithy squad started to disassemble and he had to build his own team, his weaknesses were really exposed. However, he always came across as a great innovator (as you point out) and if his role was to coach the team, with Kennedy left in charge of selection and recruitment, I would be happy enough. It is difficult to imagine him wanting to come in to a set-up where he would be below one of his former charges and flat in the hierarchy with other former players.

by Smudge21 Tue 10 Jan 2017, 4:03 pm

Josh mcnally confirmed
https://youtu.be/5_9oYpGMAPQ

by SirBurger Tue 10 Jan 2017, 10:37 pm

Pleased with that - he looks like a good player and is very well regarded in Championship circles, as well as among former RAF teammates. If he is as good as I think he could be then he should do enough to earn a contract next season as well, which, assuming the Hamilton rumour is correct, would leave us with four genuine options in the second row, which would be a great place to be in after the past few seasons. Of course this assumes that McNally goes as well as can be expected, but I think we have cause to be optimistic.

McNally aside, I wonder whether all other signings will be announced once the play-offs are out of the way (win or lose), as I imagine most signings are conditional on that anyway.

by **RiscaGame** Tue 10 Jan 2017, 10:43 pm

I think this is a very good signing for Irish. Because I know of him, I had quietly hoped Dragons would sign him as he is the kind of lock we need. I have been told by guys that one very good Prem club (and a few others) wanted him before he re-signed with Welsh (out of loyalty), so I think you guys have done brilliantly getting him this time around.

by SirBurger Wed 11 Jan 2017, 9:02 am

RiscaGame wrote:I think this is a very good signing for Irish. Because I know of him, I had quietly hoped Dragons would sign him as he is the kind of lock we need. I have been told by guys that one very good Prem club (and a few others) wanted him before he re-signed with Welsh (out of loyalty), so I think you guys have done brilliantly getting him this time around.

Yes, he seems to be very highly regarded. Kennedy had been tracking him for some years apparently, which I think McNally was quite flattered by, so maybe that swung it.

by Margin_Walker Mon 16 Jan 2017, 1:59 pm

Nice to see Lewington seemingly back and involved in full training (hopefully). He's in the pic the club put up on Twitter of Doc leading training. Would be great to see him back on the pitch in Feb. Perhaps even Ealing at the end of the month

by SirBurger Mon 16 Jan 2017, 2:51 pm

Margin_Walker wrote:Nice to see Lewington seemingly back and involved in full training (hopefully). He's in the pic the club put up on Twitter of Doc leading training. Would be great to see him back on the pitch in Feb. Perhaps even Ealing at the end of the month

That's great to see. I think we could do with a bit more cutting edge in attack, especially as it looks like Joe is out for a while.

by SirBurger Mon 16 Jan 2017, 2:54 pm

Having said that, I have just seen the pic I think you are talking about and I am not sure he is in it. If it is 11 on the far left, then I think that is actually Matt Williams unless I am mistaken.

by Margin_Walker Mon 16 Jan 2017, 3:18 pm

You had to go and ruin it didn't you...

What's Joe done? Missed that

by SirBurger Mon 16 Jan 2017, 3:57 pm

Margin_Walker wrote:You had to go and ruin it didn't you...

What's Joe done? Missed that

Not sure, but looks like he has his foot in a moon boot on social media pictures.

by Smudge21 Mon 16 Jan 2017, 4:04 pm

Saw the pics of Joe in a moon boot as well but on the latest injury report he wasnt listed as injured? Anybody know anything more?

by SirBurger Mon 16 Jan 2017, 4:24 pm

Smudge21 wrote:Saw the pics of Joe in a moon boot as well but on the latest injury report he wasnt listed as injured? Anybody know anything more?

As a general rule those injury updates are very poor and not worth paying too much attention to.

by Smudge21 Mon 16 Jan 2017, 4:39 pm

Duly noted, although one thing that did strike me was that Smallbone was still out long term. Not sure how accurate that is but is quite worrying

by SirBurger Sun 05 Feb 2017, 7:41 pm

Great result today and a much better performance (by the sounds of it) than last week's effort against Ealing, which I found to be a bit lacklustre. Great that Hobbs-Awoyemi made his return off the bench and even more pleasing that Williams was named man of the match. A few weeks off now which will be a challenge in itself, but hopefully means we can get close to our strongest XV out against Scottish and Yorkshire.

by Welly Sun 05 Feb 2017, 9:40 pm

SirBurger wrote:Great result today and a much better performance (by the sounds of it) than last week's effort against Ealing, which I found to be a bit lacklustre. Great that Hobbs-Awoyemi made his return off the bench and even more pleasing that Williams was named man of the match. A few weeks off now which will be a challenge in itself, but hopefully means we can get close to our strongest XV out against Scottish and Yorkshire.

Did you watch the game?

by SirBurger Sun 05 Feb 2017, 10:38 pm

Welly wrote:
SirBurger wrote:Great result today and a much better performance (by the sounds of it) than last week's effort against Ealing, which I found to be a bit lacklustre. Great that Hobbs-Awoyemi made his return off the bench and even more pleasing that Williams was named man of the match. A few weeks off now which will be a challenge in itself, but hopefully means we can get close to our strongest XV out against Scottish and Yorkshire.
Did you watch the game?

No, didn't make it today. Was at the Ealing match last week which was a good win in the end, but a poor performance.

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 06 Feb 2017, 7:34 am

9 tries and a completely dominant performance throughout bodes well going into the business end of the season.

Cokanasiga and Parton both bagged tries for England U20's on Saturday and the U18's beat Bristol in the academy league as well, so all in all a good weekend as a London Irish supporter.

In other news I am hearing we may be bringing in another back rower for the remainder of the season.

by Margin_Walker Mon 06 Feb 2017, 8:02 am

Ozzy3213 wrote:9 tries and a completely dominant performance throughout bodes well going into the business end of the season.

Cokanasiga and Parton both bagged tries for England U20's on Saturday and the U18's beat Bristol in the academy league as well, so all in all a good weekend as a London Irish supporter.

In other news I am hearing we may be bringing in another back rower for the remainder of the season.

Which leads to the obvious question..... Who's injured in that case? Northcote-Green and Jebb spring to mind, but assume someone else may have gone down with something if we are getting cover in.

The U20s game was fun to watch. Best I've seen them play recently in the 6N. Cokanasiga looked great before being subbed and Parton didn't see too much of the ball before finishing his try well at the end. TBC obviously not involve and commentators talking about him being injured, which is a bit of a concern.

by stnick88 Mon 06 Feb 2017, 9:34 am

Pacific Islander I have heard Ozzy?

Not sure anyone else is inured, but I wonder whether they think Nayalo isn't up to the standard required. Coman, Cowan and Trev is clear first choice but after that only Gilsenan is really good enough of those who are fit.

by Ecksile Mon 06 Feb 2017, 10:34 am

For anyone who wasn't in the Princess Suite for the aftermatch, Tommy Bell was there in a boot and explained in his interview, he has a minor injury and will be out for 4 to 6 weeks.

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 06 Feb 2017, 10:53 am

I believe so stnick, possibly Tongan.

I've not heard that anyone else is injured in the back row, I think this may be an acceptance that we are lacking ball carriers. I believe it's a deal to the end of the season but with a view to extending next season if he goes well.

Looking at our back row options, Trayfoot does not convince me and Naz will be another year older if we go up. I think it's an area that we definitely need to be looking to strengthen.

by stnick88 Mon 06 Feb 2017, 12:09 pm

we have been linked with Jake Schatz from Super Rugby

by **LondonTiger** Mon 06 Feb 2017, 1:05 pm

On 67pts LI have now guaranteed a play-off spot:

While individually Doncaster (max 70), Pirates (max 69) and Scottish (mas 67) can catch them, matches between these three sides mean that not all three can do it together.

In fact LI are just one win away from guaranteeing a top 2 finish and being unreachable by all but Leeds. So how do they approach this run in. Obviously they would like to keep winning (has anyone won all matches before?) but perhaps taking a leaf out of Exeter's books would be wise, where Rob Baxter restarted the pre-season conditioning to ensure the players were at peak fitness come the play-offs, at the expense of regular season performance levels.

LI have so much more quality than any play-off rivals that it should be a formality. However we have seen what the pressures of play-offs can do to people. They certainly have the depth of squad that so far surpassess their rivals that they can afford to rotate etc.

by Margin_Walker Mon 06 Feb 2017, 2:03 pm

Ozzy3213 wrote:I believe so stnick, possibly Tongan.

I've not heard that anyone else is injured in the back row, I think this may be an acceptance that we are lacking ball carriers. I believe it's a deal to the end of the season but with a view to extending next season if he goes well.

Looking at our back row options, Trayfoot does not convince me and Naz will be another year older if we go up. I think it's an area that we definitely need to be looking to strengthen.

Good news if it is Koloamatangi as suggested on the other board. He could potentially be a decent signing. Agree that Naz and Trayfoot are probably not what we need next year.

Shame about Bell, but better that he's out for a month or so now, rather than in the play offs.

by Smudge21 Mon 06 Feb 2017, 5:32 pm

Yep could potentially be a decent addition. Cowan, Trev and Coman are first choice for us at the moment. Personally would then have Gilsenan on the bench. Nayalo has potential to be a good player for us but still needs some time before we can tell. I think Northcote-green can be an excellent player for us as well

Narraway and Trayfoot can do a good job at championship level but personally wouldn't renew their contracts for next season. Don't know where Jebb stands but looking forward to seeing him play as I hear he's been hitting the gym a lot during his rehab and is in excellent shape

by SirBurger Mon 06 Feb 2017, 6:56 pm

stnick88 wrote:we have been linked with Jake Schatz from Super Rugby

Schatz highlights.

Him and the Tongan would be good acquisitions and definitely within our top 3 ball carriers (after Trev). I know I bang on about the ball-carrying a lot, but I think irrespective of that the back row is probably the area I am most concerned about. If we do a breakdown of the players we have then it looks something like this. Treviranus:One of the first players on the team sheet for me, but I think is showing signs of slowing up and will be 33 in March.
Cowan: Has been so much better this season, but the memory of last year cannot quite abate.
The two above are the only two who are definite Premiership material in my eyes.
Coman: One of those guys that people say 'does the unseen work', but I would like to see him do a bit more. Not a massive carrier. Has a decent tackle count and is a solid line-out option, but wouldn't say he is stand out Premiership material.
Northcote-Green: Excited by this lad. Think he is the all-action sort of player we need. Decent ball-carrier and a massive work-rate.
Gilsenan: Probably the next best but I have a suspicion he is returning to Ireland.
Narraway: Need to upgrade.
Trayfoot: Better than I think some think, but I think an upgrade is also required.
Nayalo: Yet to be convinced. For his size I think he should be packing more punch. He seems to be getting there after a couple of games, but then due to not being starter material he then has a month of no game time. He almost needs to be sent down to National One on loan for a season to get up to speed.
Curtis-Harris. High hopes but has been injured.

by SirBurger Mon 06 Feb 2017, 7:04 pm

Actually, re-watching those highlights Schatz isn't the biggest ball-carrier, but he has a very high work-rate and gets around the park as well as making some steals in the line-out. Looks more like a classic 6 than an 8.

by Smudge21 Mon 06 Feb 2017, 7:52 pm

Yep whilst he would certainly bring a lot to the table, don't think he's the big beast of a ball carrier we want. Would certainly welcome him into our team though.

Anyone know what Koloamatangis ( think we'll just call him Kolo!) ball carrying is like?

by SirBurger Mon 06 Feb 2017, 9:24 pm

I watched Italy v Tonga in the Autumn and he had a good first 20 minutes before going off injured. Not quite as powerful as Treviranus but definitely broke a few tackles and got his team over the gain line. Think it is on YouTube if you have a spare 20 mins.

by SirBurger Tue 07 Feb 2017, 1:31 pm

Just listened to interview with Kennedy. He mentioned we will be playing some kind of training match against Bath. Good to know that we are keeping players ticking over with such a long break. The Bell news is very disappointing though.

by stnick88 Tue 07 Feb 2017, 2:36 pm

potential team for next year....where do we look short?

1 Gordon Reid - Danny Hobbs Awoyemi
2 Anthony Faingaa - David Paice
3 Ben Franks - Petrus Du Plessis
4 Jim Hamilton - Sebastien De Chaves
5 George Robson - Josh McInally
6 Jake Schatz - Mike Coman
7 Blair Cowan - Max Northcote-Green
8 Ofisa Treviranus - Koloamatangi
9 Scott Steele - Brendan McKibbin
10 James Marshall - Theo Brophy-Clews
11 Alex Lewington - Ben Ransom
12 Jonny Williams - Fergus Mulchrone
13 Fergus Mulchrone - Ciaran Hearn
14 Joe Cokanasiga - Aiseli Tikarotuma
15 Tommy Bell - Greg Tonks

13 is a weakness for me. 2nd row and backrow need strengthening. I know a few of the guys mentioned like Robson and Ransom might not be there but have included them for now. Not a bad looking side though.

by SirBurger Tue 07 Feb 2017, 3:22 pm

stnick88 wrote:potential team for next year....where do we look short?

1 Gordon Reid - Danny Hobbs Awoyemi
2 Anthony Faingaa - David Paice
3 Ben Franks - Petrus Du Plessis
4 Jim Hamilton - Sebastien De Chaves
5 George Robson - Josh McInally
6 Jake Schatz - Mike Coman
7 Blair Cowan - Max Northcote-Green
8 Ofisa Treviranus - Koloamatangi
9 Scott Steele - Brendan McKibbin
10 James Marshall - Theo Brophy-Clews
11 Alex Lewington - Ben Ransom
12 Jonny Williams - Fergus Mulchrone
13 Fergus Mulchrone - Ciaran Hearn
14 Joe Cokanasiga - Aiseli Tikarotuma
15 Tommy Bell - Greg Tonks

13 is a weakness for me. 2nd row and backrow need strengthening. I know a few of the guys mentioned like Robson and Ransom might not be there but have included them for now. Not a bad looking side though.

If McNally pushes on as much as I hope he can, I wouldn't be surprised if he and De Chaves are the starters and Hamilton and Robson are there to shore things up. McKibbin pips Steele for me for the time being. I think we will play a slightly more restrictive game in the Premiership than in previous seasons and McKibbin's box kicking is top drawer.

I would probably agree that one more second row would be a real bonus on top of the Hamilton addition, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see one. In the back row I think it depends on how Koloamataongi fares. If he can be a like-for-like back-up/competition for Trev then I would be happy with those six as the main guys with Nayalo and Curtis-Harris as project players. However, if he doesn't quite deliver then another signing will definitely be required on top of him and Schatz.

Looking at a current starting XV, you are right that 13 will be the glaring weakness unless new blood is found.

One issue looking at that squad is I think we will struggle to meet the EQP criteria.

by stnick88 Tue 07 Feb 2017, 3:39 pm

what is the criteria?

by SirBurger Tue 07 Feb 2017, 4:04 pm

Not sure on precise numbers, but I think in order to get the EQP payments you need to get an average of 16 players in your match day 23 across the season. Obviously teams boost this by playing more during LV and Challenge Cup games, but still looks like it might be a struggle for us. I guess staying up is obviously more of a concern. I imagine the plan will be to move towards more English talent over time.

by Welly Tue 07 Feb 2017, 4:40 pm

SirBurger wrote:Not sure on precise numbers, but I think in order to get the EQP payments you need to get an average of 16 players in your match day 23 across the season. Obviously teams boost this by playing more during LV and Challenge Cup games, but still looks like it might be a struggle for us. I guess staying up is obviously more of a concern. I imagine the plan will be to move towards more English talent over time.

Thought it is based on Premiership rugby only not LV and Europe.

by Smudge21 Tue 07 Feb 2017, 4:47 pm

If the rumours of us and Adam Ashley-cooper were true then we are definitely in the market for a 13. Think we need more creativity in midfield

by Margin_Walker Tue 07 Feb 2017, 5:06 pm

Welly wrote:
SirBurger wrote:Not sure on precise numbers, but I think in order to get the EQP payments you need to get an average of 16 players in your match day 23 across the season. Obviously teams boost this by playing more during LV and Challenge Cup games, but still looks like it might be a struggle for us. I guess staying up is obviously more of a concern. I imagine the plan will be to move towards more English talent over time.

Thought it is based on Premiership rugby only not LV and Europe.

I did originally. But then Worcester seem to go out of their way to stack their Challenge Cup teams with EQPs to such an extent, that it likely also takes that into account.

by SirBurger Tue 07 Feb 2017, 5:08 pm

Yea, I definitely read an interview with Jim O'Toole where he said Worcester were behind the target, but would be fine after the European games.

by SirBurger Fri 10 Feb 2017, 1:55 pm

One step closer!

http://www.london-irish.com/news/hounslow-council-give-approval-for-rugby-use-at-brentford-community-stadium-london-irish-statement/bp1200/

by Welly Mon 13 Feb 2017, 11:54 am

How good would a move to brentford be for Irish?

by SirBurger Mon 13 Feb 2017, 12:22 pm

The hope is very good. We will lose some fans from the Reading area, but the anticipation is that we will pick up a lot more by being back in our previous heartland. This element is debateable but I am confident. What is not debateable is that the commercial deal (from what we have been told by the club) is going to be far superior to the atrocious one we get at Reading (even if we still won't own the ground).

by **Ozzy3213** Wed 15 Feb 2017, 5:24 pm

My understanding is, and I may be slightly off in the detail, that the land the ground is being built on belongs to Hounslow Borough Council. The stadium itself will be owned by Brentford FC and we will effectively still be tennants. The commercial ventures at the ground, which I believe may include a hotel and conferencing facilities will be managed by a separate company set up jointly by Brentford and London Irish, with a 50/50 split of the running costs and profits. I also understand that it is a possibility that the terms of our tenancy may include either a 50/50 split on matchday revenues across both teams (unlikely in my view), or we keep all of our matchday revenue but pay a bit more towards upkeep (more likely).

As I say, I don't have anything concrete, but have heard a few whispers which appear to point along these lines.

by **Ozzy3213** Wed 15 Feb 2017, 9:43 pm

I've done a blog post about our senior academy lads....

https://bikesballsandwellbeing.wordpress.com/

by Smudge21 Wed 15 Feb 2017, 11:51 pm

Really enjoyed reading it ozzy! When I look at the list of senior academy guys I think Big Joe, Brand, Parton and Curtis Harris could all have very big futures from what I've seen and heard of. I managed to get to one of eshers games before Isaac got injured and I was seriously impressed.
Elrington is another who has impressed me this season and has obviously improved a lot but still work to be done there. I also think Matt Williams has Potential at 13

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 16 Feb 2017, 8:04 am

There's a huge amount of potential across the board, I guess the key thing is turning potential into reality.

Joe and Isaac were certainly the standouts at age grade level, but Parton is one who is really exciting me at the moment. The best way I can describe how I see him is like Alex Goode with pace. Such an intelligent footballer, I have really high hopes for him.

by alive555 Thu 16 Feb 2017, 8:12 am

Jim Hamiton for LI Very Happy

by Hazel Sapling Thu 16 Feb 2017, 10:30 am

How are Cowan and Steele getting on in the Championship? LI seem to be racing through but has Cowan kept his standards up/Steele continued developing?

by Welly Thu 16 Feb 2017, 10:31 am

Is it the Bath and Irish did a joint training session. Or was it more a trial game for Bath Wink

by SirBurger Thu 16 Feb 2017, 10:38 am

Cowan was awful last season and quite clearly wasn't happy under the Coventry regime. A few of us were arguing for him to be released at the end of last season. This season, I am delighted to say, he is back to his absolute best. A menace at the breakdown, huge tackle count and great support lines in attack. That's not to say he will get back in the Scotland squad as he is knocking on a bit now but he's arguably been our best player this season.

Steele has also been very good. He has rotated a lot with McKibbin but his box kicking is coming on nicely and his running game has really flourished with the extra space in the Championship. Whether he will be able to do the same with the restricted space in the Premiership remains to be seen but I am hopeful.

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