Guinness Premiership : Exiles at strength for final game

London Irish skipper Bob Casey

Exiles at strength for final game

9 May 2008, 12:37 pm

By Jonathan McConnell

Bob Casey will lead a strong London Irish squad into Saturday final round of the Guinness Premiership against Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park.

London Irish still have all to play for as they know that a win for them could see them claim a place in next season's Heineken Cup. A win for the Exiles and defeat for Leicester Tigers would see Irish leapfrog Leicester into sixth place, which would qualify them for the Heineken Cup should Bath Rugby beat Worcester Warriors in the European Challenge Cup Final.

Irish make two positional and four personnel changes to the starting line-up of the team that played Leeds Carnegie last Sunday. In the backs Topsy Ojo reverts to the right wing as Peter Hewat returns at full back; Seilala Mapusua switches to outside centre as Shane Geraghty starts at inside centre. Among the forwards Tonga Lea'aetoa takes over at loose head prop and Phil Murphy comes in at No 8 for his final game for the Exiles.

"We're going into our last game of the season and there is still lots to play for!" said Brian Smith, London Irish's Director of Rugby. "It's possible for us to finish in sixth place in the Premiership and secure a Heineken Cup place for next season. If we're to do that then we must win on Saturday and hope that results elsewhere go our way.
"Sale have shown the true potential of their strong squad this season. They have been in the top half of the league for most of the season and deservedly so. Whatever position you look at there are talented, experienced players that are well coached by Philippe Saint Andre and Kingsley Jones and who always perform well at home.

"It's been a special season for London Irish. We've played some great rugby and that's a credit to our players. We want to finish with a performance that we can be proud of and that will require us to re-produce the form we showed in the home game with Sale earlier in the season," Smith concluded.

Team:
15. Peter Hewat; 14. Topsy Ojo; 13. Seilala Mapusua; 12. Shane Geraghty; 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau; 10. Eoghan Hickey; 9. Paul Hodgson; 1. Tonga Lea'aetoa; 2. David Paice, 3. Faan Rautenbach; 4. James Hudson; 5. Bob Casey (captain); 6. Declan Danaher; 7. Steffon Armitage; 8. Phil Murphy.

Replacements:
16. Clarke Dermody; 17. Stuart Mackie; 18. Dan Murphy; 19. Gary Johnson; 20. Richard Thorpe; 21. Warren Fury; 22. Tomas De Vedia.