London Irish tackle claim that their Premiership survival should come with asterisk
London Irish assistant coach Brad Davis has insisted it is “not all doom and gloom” following a disappointing return to action, playing down suggestions that Saracens’ sanctions could mean their Premiership survival has an asterisk attached to it.
The lowly Irish have suffered comprehensive defeats to Bath and Northampton since the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership resumed this month.
Experienced trio Franco van der Merwe, Dave Porecki and Stephen Myler were among nine out-of-contract players to depart Irish during the suspension of the league, while forwards coach George Skivington controversially left to take over at Gloucester.
Australian Davis does not want to dwell on negativity, although he accepts a swift improvement is required ahead of Wednesday’s trip to fellow strugglers Leicester. “It’s not been the ideal start post-lockdown. It’s not how we would have liked to have got off and up and running,” he said.
“We’re disappointed definitely in certain parts of our game. We’re looking to improve that. We’re working incredibly hard to try and rectify those issues in the game and we’re hopeful we can put in an improved performance against Leicester on Wednesday. It’s not all doom and gloom but we’re definitely looking to right some wrongs of our game.”
A fabulous finish… and what about that pass from James Grayson ?https://t.co/ztTsZzf5nE
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 22, 2020
Sanctions imposed on reigning Premiership champions Saracens due to salary cap breaches mean ninth-placed Irish and second-bottom Leicester do not have to worry about the threat of relegation. The Exiles currently sit eight points ahead of the Tigers going in to the midweek meeting at Welford Road.
Whichever Premiership club eventually finishes just above Sarries in eleventh position risks accusations of escaping the drop by default and having an unwanted asterisk placed next to their name. Davis dismissed concerns about that issue and feels building momentum ahead of next season’s move to the Brentford Community Stadium is the most pressing matter.
“You could argue the point that you could have an asterisk saying this club finished eleventh because of Covid,” replied Davis when asked about the situation. “There has to be an understanding that regardless of where we position in the table there are some clubs who are stronger post-lockdown and there are some clubs who are arguably weaker.
“We’re a club that has probably been slightly weakened by the lockdown in terms of the amount of players in certain positions that have left the club. We want to finish as high as possible and then we want to build on that to go into the 2020/21 season at Brentford and absolutely hit the ground running in London.
“You don’t want to lean on there is no relegation now and I appreciate, with respect, about the asterisk. That’s not going to define us whether we end up in that eleventh spot or whether we finish in seventh or eighth spot.”
In addition to recent personnel departures, Irish have also been hit by injuries. Winger Ben Loader is undergoing head injury assessments and likely to miss out against Tigers, while fly-half Theo Brophy-Clews was also injured in the weekend loss to Northampton and is not expected to recover from a shoulder issue in time.
“We are light in some positions and that has been well-documented and there is no cavalry coming over the hill,” said Davis. “We just get on with it, work as hard as we can and hopefully we can reap some rewards.”
'As it stands a lot of guys on June 30 are going to be unemployed' @topsy_ojo talks the brutal reality of contracts, @LiRFC , their new stadium and how he's transitioning to life after the game, with @heagneyl ??https://t.co/PjrB41nuTu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 7, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments