London Irish Rugby

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BOWDEN SET FOR SURGERY

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Dan Bowden, the 26 year old fly half of the London Irish is all set to undergo an ankle surgery, effectively ruling him out for the last four games of the for The Exiles, thereby ending his career for the London based club.

He has already signed on a new contractual agreement to move to the Leicester Tigers at the end of the season, meaning that he is done and dusted with the Irish. This puts the club in some dire straits if rumors of a move for Adrian Jarvis to an unnamed French First Division are to be believed, therefore, leaving the side with only Steven Shingler as the recognized number 10 for the club.

However, according to the Director of Rugby for The Exiles Brian Smith, the search for a replacement fly half is well underway and by the end of the season they will have ample solutions to the problem with the creative part of their play. London Irish also believe that their free scoring player Tom Homer can be molded to play in the role of a fly half, leaving them with plenty of options at the centre of the park.

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IRISH HUMBLED BY FALCONS

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London Irish were humbled by Newcastle at the Kingston Park after they lost the match 19 to 10. The match was well fought by the Newcastle Falcons as they recovered after half time to finish the match on a winning note.

The score stood at Newcastle Falcons 6 and London Irish 10 at the half time. On top of that, Adriaan Fondse was sent off in the 60th minute. Fondse was sent off from the match by the referee after he punched Delon Armitage. The full back was very lucky to have gone unpunished after he smashed his forearm on James Fitzpatrick in the later stages of the match.

The game was interrupted due to many ugly tackles and bookings. Amongst which were Jon Golding of Newcastle Falcons and Richard Thorpe of London Irish who were booked in the last few minutes of what turned out to be a very ill tempered and bad spirited match.

On top of all the ugly tackles and the bookings, the game was also interrupted because of a huge number of errors as both the teams struggled to play to their potential because of harsh weather conditions.

Jimmy Gopperth of the Falcons managed to convert three very important penalties, a drop goal and a conversion. Gopperth scored a penalty in the fourth minute of the game itself after London Irish committed three unforced errors.

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IRISH SNAP UP AULIKA

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London Irish have secured the signing of Halanni Aulika on a two year deal from the start of the 2012-13 season.  The Tongan prop has been capped five times for his country including playing the second half in the Tongan’s victory over eventual World Cup finalists France in the World Cup pool stages last year.

Aulika played for the Highlanders in last year’s Super Rugby campaign and played for Otago in New Zealand’s domestic tournaments. He brings experience of playing against the world’s best in the Super Rugby tournament and Exiles boss Toby Booth is excited by what his new acquisition can bring to his side.

Booth praised Aulika’s physical attributes describing him as “dynamic and a good athlete which enables him to carry very well” as well as praising the skills he will ahve picked up in his time in New Zealand.  His New Zealand upbringing means he displays good set piece attributes which is what we need in the Northern Hemisphere”.

Aulika can play either tight head or loose head prop and will provide options in the Exiles pack next season.

Aulika has said his decision to join Irish was influenced by the similarities in the playing style of the Exiles and that which he has experienced in New Zealand. He describes his new club as playing “a very expansive style of rugby”. This is true and it is also the case that throughout New Zealand a more “expansive” game is encouraged.

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IRISH READY FOR HARLEQUINS

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London Irish will travel to Harlequins on Saturday for a vital Aviva Premiership encounter full of confidence after a morale-boosting victory over defending champions Gloucester in the LV= Cup.

Irish were condemned to second place in the pool despite the win as Leicester won elsewhere, but Toby Booth’s side will be happy to be hitting form ahead of a crucial period in the Premiership.

Saturday’s clash at Twickenham Stoop, home of league leaders Harlequins, represents a huge opportunity for fifth-placed Irish to force their way above Northampton or Leicester into a play-off position.

It is also a mouth-watering repeat of the season opener at Twickenham, this time the home of English rugby as opposed to the Stoop, when Nick Evans inspired Harlequins to a narrow victory in front of over 55,000 fans.

Irish will be hoping their own kicking maestro Tom Homer will be able to repeat the fine form he showed against Gloucester in the LV=Cup, as his 18 points propelled his side to a 23-15 win at the Madejski Stadium.

Brian Blaney showed fine strength to score in the corner for the rest of the home side’s points, and despite a brace of tries from Ian Clark the Cherry and Whites travelled back to the West Country without even a bonus point.

Irish coach Toby Booth has revealed that troubled full-back Delon Armitage, who was kept out of the spotlight against Gloucester, may well be included in his squad for the Harlequins game.

The England international recently courted controversy once again after being arrested for an alleged assault in a nightclub following an England Saxons game.

He was subsequently dropped by England’s new hard-line regime and has been linked with a summer move to Toulon, but Booth looks set to pick Armitage for Saturday’s pivotal clash.


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