Preview: London Irish v Wasps
Wasps boss Ian McGeechan has made just one change to his side for their Guinness Premiership game against London Irish at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.
Wasps boss Ian McGeechan has made just one change to his side for their Guinness Premiership game against London Irish at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.
Fraser Waters is recalled at centre to partner Riki Flutey, forcing Wasps rising young talent Dominic Waldouck to take a seat on the bench.
Among the replacements Waldouck is joined by Wasps Academy player, Chris Bishay who replaces Danny Cipriani after his recall to England duty – international demands leaving Wasps without six regular first teamers in total.
“With internationals and injuries this is another big game for us,” McGeechan said.
“As the Premiership continues to tighten up, every game can have a major effect on the table especially for those teams who are pushing for a top four spot.”
Form: Irish and Wasps are the top two teams on current form in the Guinness Premiership: in their last six matches Wasps have picked up 23 league points and Irish 21 points. London Irish's 14-34 reversal at Gloucester on Saturday ended a seven game winning run, however at Madejski Stadium the Exiles need just one more win to make it nine home victories in a row to set a new record since moving to Reading in season 2000/01. Wasps made it three wins in succession against Harlequins on Sunday. Wasps' only Guinness Premiership defeat since October was 17-18 at Gloucester on 26 January. London Irish have won just two of their last 13 encounters with Wasps, whilst the Wasps record at Madejski Stadium in all competitions against all opponents is an impressive played 11, won 8.
The Teams:
London Irish: 15 Peter Hewat, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Eoghan Hickey, 9 Warren Fury, 8 Juan Leguizamon, 7 Declan Danaher, 6 Kieran Roche, 5 Bob Casey (c), 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody.
Replacements: 16 Dan Murphy, 17 Stuart Mackie, 18 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 19 Richard Thorpe, 20 Steffon Armitage, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Ross Broadfoot.
Wasps: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Mark van Gisbergen, 13 Fraser Waters, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 David Doherty, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Mark McMillan, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (c), 7 Joe Worsley, 6 John Hart, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 George Skivington, 3 Tom French, 2 Raphaël Ibañez, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Nick Adams, 18 Dan Leo, 19 Rob Webber, 20 Simon Amor, 21 Dominic Waldouck, 22 Chris Bishay.
Date: Sunday, 16 March
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Venue: Madejski Stadium
Referee: Rob Debney
Touch judges: Paul Dix, Andrew Pearce
Television match official: Brian Abrahams, Geoff Warren