Preview: London Irish v Northampton
Sailosi Tagicakibau returns to the London Irish line-up for the first time since February for Saturday's meeting with Northampton.
Sailosi Tagicakibau returns to the London Irish line-up for the first time since February for Saturday's meeting with Northampton.
The Samoan international had scored six tries in seven appearances in the Premiership before suffering the foot injury that sidelined him. He starts in his customary position on the left wing. Elvis Seveali'i switches from outside to inside centre in the absence of the injured Seilala Mapusua.
Among the forwards Richard Thorpe and Chris Hala'Ufia return to the starting line-up where they join Steffon Armitage in the back-row.
Mike Catt is named among the replacements and will make his final club and Premiership playing appearance during the match. Another England international, Topsy Ojo also returns from injury and is included on the bench.
“Undoubtedly, there is a lot riding on the outcome of tomorrow's match and any chance of reaching the play-offs will keep us firmly focused on winning,” said Toby Booth, London Irish Head Coach.
“We are determined to battle all the way, secure the points and capitalise on any opportunities put in front of us.”
Meanwhile the Saints will be looking for victory that would hand them a home semi-final against Saracens on May 16, with Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder saying that this provides plenty of motivation for his team against a dangerous Exiles outfit.
“We're in a good position and we know our destiny is in our own hands for a home Premiership semi-final,” Mallinder said, who has named his strongest available team for the clash.
“That's what we're aiming for and we want to finish the regular season with a win at London Irish tomorrow afternoon.
“We will have to make a lot of improvement from our last game against Saracens. We didn't play well in that game, but the reaction of the players has been very positive and they have all worked hard in training.
“We are certainly paying a lot of respect to London Irish. They like to run the ball and have some powerful runners in the backs and the forwards, who they like to keep involved to put them over the gain line.”
Form: The Saints have won three of their last four meetings with London Irish, but have lost on their last three visits to Madejski Stadium. London Irish need to win to give themselves any hope of reaching the last four in the Guinness Premiership. The Exiles' form has deserted them of late with a run which has brought them just 16 league points from their last ten games. Northampton have already qualified for the last four in the Guinness Premiership playoffs, where they will meet Saracens. The Saints, however, need to win this game to ensure that the semi-final will be played at Franklin's Gardens (less if Saracens drop any points at Leicester).
The teams:
London Irish: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Tom Homer, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Elvis Seveali'i, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Paul Hodgson (capt), 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Richard Thorpe, 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Kieran Roche, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 Danie Coetzee, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 James Tideswell, 19 Andy Perry, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Topsy Ojo, 22 Mike Catt, 23 Jamie Lennard.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Neil Best, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Alan Dickens, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.
Date: Saturday, May 8
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Madejski Stadium