London Irish will face Harlequins on Saturday at the Stoop. Harlequins will be boosted by the return of their very important player Matt Hopper who was busy with his England Saxons duty.
London Irish had made in total five changes in their squad as compared to the squad they put up against Gloucester last week. Jonathan Joseph will be partnering Shontayne Hape in the centre while Topsy Ojo will be back on the wings. In the front, Faan Rautenbach and David Paice will be playing in the very front row while Roche takes his place in the back three. He will be playing with matt Garvey and Richard Thorpe.
London Irish coach, Toby Booth said that it will be very important for his team to continue the winning momentum that they gained from their match against Gloucester. He said that they will have to play with a very attacking mindset in order to win against the Harlequins. They are trying their best to push for a playoff position and hence gaining points at this stage is extremely important. The coach said that despite the rough weather, his players are well prepared and ready to take on the challenge that Harlequins pose to them.
The Harlequins on the other hand will be playing on their home ground after a long time. They too have made a few changes in their team. Ross Chisholm will be retaining his position at the full back and he will play alongside Sam Smith. Tom Williams will be playing at the wings. Hopper will also be returning to partner Tom Casson in the centre position and Danny Care and Nick Evans will be playing in the outside half back.
Mark Lambert, James Johnston and Joe Gray will all be coming back to the squad as the scrum and make the foundation of the team. Olly Kohn and George Robson will be playing in the second row. Captain Chris Robshaw will not be available for the game as he has to represent England in Rome and hence Robson will be taking over the reins of the team. This will be an interesting encounter between London Irish and Harlequins.