London Irish
June 14 2001
Club Details
Madejski Stadium
Junction 11, M4
Reading
RG2 OFL
Stadium Capacity: 24,100 (all seated)
Website: www.london-irish.com
Founded: 1898
- 2009/10 Season Preview -
Last time around: Having picked up a point in every game played last season, London Irish finished third on the Guinness Premiership standings and went on to challenge Leicester for the title in the final - which they lost. A poor performance against Bourgoin saw them dumped out of the European Challenge Cup at the quarter-final stage, a tournament they had a realistic chance of winning.
This time around: London Irish have been making big strides in the past two seasons - and they will be looking to finally get their hands on some silverware this time around. At home they will be one of the toughest sides to beat, but with more players going out than coming in, it is arguable as to whether the Exiles will have the numbers and depth of quality to compete in both the Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup.
Coach: In Toby Booth and Mike Catt the Exiles have two of the game's most forward-thinking coaches, while they have pulled off a mini-coup in bringing the highly-rated defence guru Dave Ellis back from France. Booth took over from Brian Smith last season and the results speak for itself - a highly influential figure with a big rugby brain.
Captain: Bob Casey will be out to build on the impressive 2008/09 campaign, but he has a huge job on his hands as the weight of expectation is always hard to carry. The veteran lock has shown that he is a captain his troops can rally around, and with Nick Kennedy by his side they have one of the best line-out combinations in the Premiership.
One to watch: Too often identified as the fall-guy when things went wrong at his former club Gloucester, gifted fly-half Ryan Lamb has left the west country goldfish bowl and, perhaps significantly for Irish and maybe England, Lamb will now come under Mike Catt's expert tutelage. If class really is permanent and form only temporary, then the result of this new liaison might be spectacular.
In: Ryan Lamb (Gloucester), Chris Malone (Harlequins), George Stowers (Kobe, Japan), Andy Buist, Andy Perry (both Newcastle), Paulica Ion (Bath), Jamie Lennard (Doncaster), James Tideswell (Plymouth).
Out: Shane Geraghty (Northampton), James Hudson (Newcastle), Tonga Lea'aetoa (Toulon), James Bailey (Lyons), Richard Skuse (Saracens), Warren Fury, Eoghan Hickey (both Wasps), Dominic Shabbo (London Welsh).
Squad: Delon Armitage, Steffon Armitage, James Buckland, Bob Casey, Danie Coetzee, Alex Corbisiero, Declan Danaher, Tomas De Vedia, Clarke Dermody, Jonathon Fisher, Charlie Gower, Chris Hala'ufia, Peter Hewat, Paul Hodgson, Tom Homer, Gary Johnson, Nick Kennedy, Alfredo Lalanne, Ryan Lamb, Jamie Lennard, Chris Malone, Seilala Mapusua, Dan Murphy, Topsy Ojo, David Paice, Andy Perry, Faan Rautenbach, Peter Richards, Kieran Roche, Elvis Seveali'I, George Stowers, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Adam Thompstone, Richard Thorpe, James Tideswell.
