Franks relishing Twickenham return

Editor

London Irish prop Ben Franks is set to return to Twickenham on Saturday when he lines up against Wasps in the London double header.

Franks has fond memories of Twickenham as he came on as a replacement, midway into the second half, during the All Blacks' 34-17 victory over the Wallabies in the World Cup final last month, and is relishing his return to the famous stadium.

"I've never played anything other than a Test at Twickenham, so that's going to be exciting," he told the BBC.

The 31-year-old made his debut for London Irish in their Challenge Cup loss at Grenoble as a replacement last Saturday and could make his first start for the Exiles this weekend.

Last month's triumph over Australia means Franks won his second successive World Cup with the All Blacks. Circumstances are, however, very different at Irish as they are amongst the Premiership's basement dwellers and winless after four matches.

Despite their poor form, Franks is convinced he made the right move and when asked why moved to Irish he replied: "What stuck out for me was the club have been at a point for a while where they feel they've underachieved.

"What they've done with the training facilities and the desire they have to be one of the top teams excited me," he added.

"When they talked to me about the move, I could easily see myself buying in to what they want to achieve."