Jersey Reds pipped Ealing Trailfinders to the English RFU Championship title and at the weekend both teams won their respective semi-finals and will now contest the Championship Cup final. The Reds beat the Cornish Pirates 35-24 away in Penzance while Trailfinders beat the Doncaster Knights 32-0.
There is a healthy Irish representation in both the Jersey and Ealing clubs. Hooker Eoghan Clarke, a former Ireland Under-20 international and Munster academy player, has been a standout player for the Reds this season, the CBC Monkstown past pupil featuring prominently once again in the win over the Pirates.
The Reds roster also contains: Wexford-born former Lansdowne prop Greg McGrath who spent time at Leinster and Connacht, Clonmel’s Sean O’Connor, once of Cashel, Garryowen, Munster and the Irish 20s, and Alex McHenry (Cork Constitution, Munster, Irish 20s, Irish Sevens) who also had a brief spell at Wasps. Jerry Sexton, Ireland and Leinster captain, Johnny’s youngest brother plays for the club’s amateur side.
Ealing also boasts a sizeable Irish contingent including Tipperary born fullback David Johnston (UL Bohemian, Munster), tight head prop Ross Kane (Ulster), fullback Cian Kelleher (Leinster, Connacht, Irish 20s), Angus Kernohan (Ulster, Irish 20s), hooker Kevin O’Byrne (Munster), Skerries born secondrow David O’Connor (Ulster, Leinster), brother of Ulster’s Alan, and centre Peter Robb (Leinster, Connacht, Irish 20s).
Former Ireland scrumhalf and ex-head coach of the Ireland Under-20s Kieran Campbell and erstwhile prop and now scrum coach Brett Wilkinson, who will be well known to Connacht supporters, are part of the back room team at the London club.
The English RFU are coming under increasing pressure from the Championship clubs to remove the obstacles which prevent clubs in the second tier of English club rugby from being promoted to the Premiership, a situation that unfortunately looks like continuing for the foreseeable future.
Number: 29,000
The number of tickets that are available for Leinster’s URC semi-final against Munster at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday. Leinster’s 12,200 season ticket holders will have first preference to purchase today before they go on general sale tomorrow (Tuesday).
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“We doubted. We lost confidence because we didn’t score in the first half. We gave up at some point. It’s [La Rochelle] a great team, we know that. La Rochelle was effective, we weren’t.”
Toulon head coach Franck Azéma after his side’s 23-8 defeat to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle in the French Top 14.
Connacht’s common ground
Stormers’ head coach John Dobson pointed out that Connacht share some of the attributes that he recognises in his team, ahead of next Saturday’s United Rugby Championship semi-final in Cape Town (3.0).
The Stormers host a Connacht side that deservedly beat Ulster in Belfast last weekend and are expecting a tough tussle. Dobson said: “We were chatting about Connacht a couple of weeks ago and it’s similar to what we say about ourselves. As [wing Seabelo] Senatla says, they’ve got ‘dog’ in them, and they have.
“They won seven in a row. There is something there that is worrying, the way they fight, and their attack shape is really good. Connacht have a great story, from a windy greyhound track in the far West with the smallest budget [in Ireland]. They don’t go away. They will be tougher than we think.”
The two sides met in the opening round of the tournament last September in Stellenbosch, a game in which Ireland centre Bundee Aki, was red-carded and it required a late try for the home side to secure a bonus point victory.
Dobson said that his team had successfully addressed the performance issues that were prevalent in the defeat to Munster and a win over Benetton. “There was a fear two weeks ago that we were out of sync and out of flow. It all seemed to settle this week. We were really, really confident.
“With respect to Connacht, a team that has crossed the equator is useful opposition, compared to a team that has travelled from upcountry. We prepared and trained really well. This felt like the most pressure we have had so far. It feels like now we can get back into the groove.”
The Exiles come good
London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney was full of praise for the club following a hard fought 17-14 win over the Exeter Chiefs in what has been a turbulent week for the club. The Exiles finished the season in fifth, their best placing in the league for 14 years and just three points outside making the finals.
The club has been in a state of chassis off the pitch with the threat of not being able to fulfil the fixture because of the 11th hour payment of wages and player insurance issues related to a reputedly change of ownership.
Kidney said: “I’m delighted for everybody in the organisation, we said we would control what we can control and that’s what we did. There’s a rich future for this club on the pitch and I’m sure the people off the pitch will do the business, they just need a bit of time to see it through.
“You see the measure of people in adversity. Our leadership have been magnificent, it never interfered with training or team meetings. The players have been brilliant, but so have coaches and the off-field team because it affected everybody.”
