Year: 2011

Toby Booth has given his vision for the future of his London Irish team, hinting that he will aim for a smaller group of players for their campaign next season. With playing budgets for next season currently being set and focus already being at least partly switched to next season Booth knows where he sees the Exiles short term future.

London Irish have signed the young row forward Edward Siggery on a professional contract. Siggery, 19, who came through the ranks at Scarlets Academy, is currently at the Junior World Championships with the Wales Under-20 side. He told the club website: “Quite a few young lads at the club made a big impact last season […]

London Irish have moved in to sign the All Blacks second row Bryn Evans in a major coup. The 26-year-old lock, who also plays for Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand’s domestic provincial competition, has signed a two-year deal. “I am looking forward to testing myself against a different opposition in a different club competition,” he […]

London Irish centre Dan Bowden has said that he is finding it difficult to concentrate on rugby as his native New Zealand has been affected by earthquake.

Bowden, who lived in Christchurch before moving to the Exiles, said it had been a worrying time for him.

He told BBC Berkshire: “I didn’t hear from my cousins for 24 hours so it’s hard not to think the worst.

“That put rugby on the back-burner mentally, but it was a relief to get a game and think about something else.”

London Irish scrum-half Paul Hodgson has said that playing under pressure is not a problem for them. The Exiles are without a Premiership win since October and have slipped from top of the table to seventh place.

Paul Hodgson told BBC Berkshire: “The pressure that we create is on each other, to make sure that we deliver the best possible performance.

“We’re a squad that is very competitive throughout – in plenty of positions there’s competition.”

Hodgson played down the importance of this weekend’s fixture against Newcastle.

London Irish’s Darren Allison has said that he is happy about the current competition for places. Allinson will wear the number nine jersey on Sunday against Northampton in the LV= Cup – his third start in a row. He told BBC Berkshire: “Dodge [Paul Hodgson] is one of the best defensive scrum-halves I’ve ever seen. […]

Seilala Mapusua’s London Irish future is still unclear and it will be some time before it is sorted. The Samoa international is yet to sign a new deal at Irish, with clubs in France and Japan reportedly interested. Mapusua told BBC Berkshire: “It’s weighing up the balance between lifestyle and financial gains – we’ve been […]