'In the Championship if you make a mistake you might lose 50, 60 yards, whereas in the Premiership you can make a mistake and it's either three, five or seven points'
Franco van der Merwe doesn’t beat about the bush. The 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership season is proving a very different experience for London Irish compared to their traumatic last top-flight campaign.
Two years ago, their opening weekend win over Harlequins at the London double header was followed by a grim 25-week wait for a second success. In between, there were 14 straight defeats, some by heavy 30, 29 (twice) and 24-point margins. Grim.
Two years later, the wait for a second success following an opening round win away at Wasps was a mere three weeks. Five rounds in, they are at breakeven, two wins, two losses and a draw at Bristol – a twelve-point haul they are confidently looking to add to on Sunday when struggling Bath visit the Madejski. Sweet.
“We have had a few good results go our way and are very happy about it,” said the veteran South African lock to RugbyPass, reflecting on a promising lift-off in sharp contrast to last time out when a measly three wins and 22 points were snaffled across an entire 22-match campaign.
“The spirits are pretty good at the moment but it has only been five games into the Premiership. We’re definitely not going to get ahead of ourselves. We said from the beginning we will fight for every point every week.”
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They are. Van der Merwe doesn’t speak ill of the 2017/18 London Irish calamity. After all, he was the skipper and it fell to him to keep lifting the sombre mood.
But Premiership business is very different now with Declan Kidney at the helm in charge of an expensively assembled squad of household names such as Waisake Naholo, Adam Coleman, Paddy Jackson and the yet-to-feature Sean O’Brien.
The project could easily fall flat on its face despite the immense individual talent on the roster. However, despite all the multiple nationalities, it’s somehow clicking on the pitch, breeding optimism that this is potentially a season of mid-season security, not one of getting sucked into another treacherous battle for survival.
“We have a great squad,” agreed van der Merwe readily. “We have had about ten great world-class players coming in. They really slotted in easy. It is because we have got such a good culture and seeing them play on the weekend, you can see the experience coming through.
“It’s small things, like a high pressured situation. That is when you see the world-class players coming through, you see a little bit of extra class and a little bit of their experience in certain situations. They slot in very well in the squad and the good thing is they share that experience, talking to young players, sharing their knowledge, sharing their experiences with other players. Everyone is getting the benefit of it.
“We are literally from all over the world and it’s sort of what makes us unique as well because we are a bunch of misfit brothers. That is one thing we sort of take pride in but it is basically just respecting each other, the different cultures, the way everyone prepares for a game or the way they eat their food, or prepare for training or do their strength, whatever it is.
👀 EASY ON THE EYE 👀@TerrenceHepetem's offload 👌, @Rona1Curtis' burst ⚡️ and @bipmeehan with the 🔥 finish
@LiRFC mixed grit with style in their last #GallagherPrem outing 💪🤩
Will the Exiles get a W at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday against @bathrugby? pic.twitter.com/XluF5FDMEj
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) December 20, 2019
“We have got a couple of socials or whether it is a team dinner or just going for coffees or something low key. It is more driven by everyone in terms of respecting each other. It is not forced upon us and it’s great. You might sit at a table where there might be five different nationalities and then you might sit at another table and there might be ten and then there is another two here.
“It’s great playing with a team that is playing with each other,” he enthused, nodding approvingly in Kidney’s direction for pulling it all together. “I have had a few coaches in my career and I have to say as a director of rugby, he is phenomenal.
“The way he finds the balance between the off-field stuff and the on-field stuff is brilliant. He manages to engage the players in the way we want to play but he also gets the commitment to engage in off-field stuff whether that is study or to find other stuff outside of rugby. He is not a man of a lot of words so when he speaks you listen and you pay attention. He is doing a great job.”
'We are all on the same hamster wheel'
– What happened at Twickenham when the @premrugby
coaches of @LiRFC, @Harlequins and @gloucesterrugby – Declan Kidney, Paul Gustard and Johan Ackerman – sat down with @heagnel and @RugbyPasshttps://t.co/rwS90RWDcN— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 15, 2019
Van der Merwe is long on the go, breaking through at the Currie Cup Leopards in 2004 before going on to play Super Rugby for the Lions and the Sharks before a PRO12 stint at Ulster was followed by the bizarre situation where a deal to join Cardiff Blues was written off before he even got to play. Along the way, there was a sole Test appearance for the Springboks (versus the All Blacks), the sort of high profile exposure that was a world away from slogging it out in the Championship last term.
“It was a really interesting year,” he suggested, reflecting on a very different experience away from the limelight. For instance, London Irish’s average home attendance dropped to 3,770 – a high of 10,106 and low of 2,067 in a 24,000-capacity ground.
“It was almost like going back to the roots of rugby. The places we played, the travel. It was almost like when you started playing rugby… well, maybe when some of the older boys starting playing. It was a good reality check. I quite enjoyed it and I think quite a lot of guys enjoyed it.
The Exiles have enjoyed a stellar Christmas and look Premiership bound once again ☘️
– @heagneyl on why the craic is set for a return at the 120-year-old club 👨💼 https://t.co/1806XJqRwb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 30, 2018
“There was a lot of pressure as well because you had to win every game to get back and the moment you slipped one game there was a lot of pressure because Ealing last season did really well. They played some phenomenal rugby and it went down to the second-last game when we played Richmond away… everyone was just so happy to move up to the Premiership again.
“You now go to big stadiums and there are bigger crowds, it’s just the atmosphere. That is one thing that is massive. It’s a big change. You don’t have a couple of hundred people standing around the pitch. It’s actually quality pitches as well so even if it rains it doesn’t get too muddy, the ground is good. The facilities are pretty world-class.
“Again in the Championship if you make a mistake you might lose 50, 60 yards, whereas in the Premiership you can make a mistake and it’s either three, five or seven points against you. The small margins start to count in the Premiership whereas in the Champ’ you could get away with it.”
London Irish is pleased to launch its Season Tickets for the club’s inaugural season in the Brentford Community Stadium.
Season Tickets will launch first to existing Season Ticket holders & Members, before going on general sale in February.
Read more 👉 https://t.co/IMD1sYxonf pic.twitter.com/3FUFWXRoN3
— London Irish (@londonirish) December 18, 2019
With the club booked in for a long-awaited return to London and a new groundshare with Brentford FC from next season, the hope is they can start attracting back some of their lapsed followers. They have averaged crowds of 4,473 for their two home games so far – 5,324 and 3,622 – but a healthier number is due for Sunday’s festive fare.
“The brand that we play is really exciting. We score tries, we manage to get points on the scoreboard and you can see the way that players play for each other. There is real excitement, a real buzz among the players. There is really good energy which makes it exciting to watch,” insisted van der Merwe, who starts versus Bath from the bench.
Set to turn 37 next March, he isn’t sure he will be around next term for the big match-day relocation to the capital. Right now, though, he is optimistic there will be room for an older head in an increasingly younger man’s game. “My contract is up at the end of the season and we’ll see. So far the body feels good so I wouldn’t mind keeping on playing.
“Everyone works really hard at the club to keep the players intact, especially myself being a bit older. They look after me well… but when I am done playing I will probably go back to South Africa or even stay a couple of years longer in the UK. I would love to be involved in coaching and do a bit of farming as well, so between the two I could keep myself busy.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
The World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
1 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
2 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
19 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments