Director of Rugby: Brian Smith
Captain: George Skivington
Position 2013/2014: 10th
Predicted Position 2014/2015: 11th
London Irish Season Preview
Brian Smith is starting the final year of his contract and will be under severe pressure to deliver a positive season for London Irish. Their star player from last season, James O’Connor has moved on to Toulon and will be near impossible to replace.
Irish have made a point of recruiting from their native land, signing a number of young Irish players in Conor Gilsenan from Leinster and Eoin Griffin from Connacht. Tom Court has also signed from Ulster to provide some experience to the front row.
London Irish have also brought some Aviva Premiership experience with Daniel Leo and Luke Narraway returning to England via Perpignan in France. Tom Guest was a reliable performer for Harlequins and will also be pivotal to the pack with Leo and Narraway.
As experienced as these players are, London Irish will still likely struggle this season. Marland Yarde has left for Harlequins. Yarde showed his immense quality with England against New Zealand and this loss to the team is immeasurable.
Brian Smith will have his hands full to steer his squad away from relegation trouble but they just about have enough quality to stay up this season. Whether this is enough for Smith to earn a new contract is another matter.
Players In:
Tom Court (Prop) from Ulster
Geoff Cross (Prop) from Edinburgh Rugby
Sean Cox (Second Row) from Edinburgh Rugby
Daniel Leo (Back Row) from USA Perpignan
Tom Guest (Back Row) from Harlequins
Luke Narraway (Back Row) from USA Perpignan
Conor Gilsenan (Back Row) from Leinster
Scott Steele (Scrum Half) from Leicester Tigers
Chris Noakes (Out Half) from Blues
Eoin Griffin (Centre) from Connacht
James Short (Wing) from Saracens
Players Out:
CJ van der Linde (Prop) to Eastern Province Kings
Ian Gough (Second Row) to Newport Gwent Dragons
Bryn Evans (Second Row) to Biarritz Olympique
Chris Hala’ufia (Back Row) to Scarlets
Ian Humphreys (Out Half) to Ulster
James O’Connor (Out Half/Centre/Wing/Full Back) to Toulon
Setaimata Sa (Centre) to England Hull F.C. Rugby League
Marland Yarde (Wing) to Harlequins
Sailosi Tagicakibau (Wing) to Wasps
Declan Danaher Retired
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