Also known as the Reading Allsorts, Irish have a superb record at KP, winning on five of their last seven journeys to the north-east going back to November 2002, when the Exiles won 16-24 before a 16-17 Cup victory a month later.  Since then, our only two victories have been on February 28^th 2004 in the Powergen Cup quarter-finals, and 23-16 on the last day of the regular league season.

Last season’s corresponding match saw the Oirish saw us beaten 21-26, despite outscoring the visitors two tries to one.  Despite Tim Visser’s early try, we were 13-20 down at the break thanks to Riki Flutey’s reply and Barry Everitt’s boot, and Mark Mayerhofler’s score did little but secure a bonus point.

We haven’t done badly in Reading however, winning three at the Madejski Stadium  since the Exiles moved there in 2000, but a 19-0 defeat earlier this season was the second time the Falcons had been nilled there, after December 2002.  16-0 down at half-time thanks to Faan Rautenbach and Paul Hodgson’s tries, we at least kept the score down after the interval, to one Jeremy Staunton penalty.

After finishing third in 2005/06 and losing in the Premiership semi-final to Leicester, Irish dropped to sixth last season but still secured a place in the Heineken Cup, and last week won their first ever quarter-final in the tournament against Perpignan to secure a last four meeting with Toulouse at Twickenham.  Perpignan were the only team to beat Irish in the pool stage of the Heineken Cup, from which they qualified as top seeds thanks to doubles over Newport and Treviso and a home win against the Catalans.

In the league our visitors are further slipping, sitting in seventh place currently, after winning only one of their first five Premiership matches (against us), and three in a row recently, away to Gloucester and Bath and at home to Wasps.  Indeed, Irish’s only two wins away from Reading in the league in 2007/08 came at Leeds and Worcester in January and February respectively, which could give us some hope for Sunday.

Or maybe not, with Worcester closing in on us from eleventh.

Irish’s last domestic outing was at home to Bristol a fortnight ago, resulting in a 28-8 victory thanks to 18 points from the foot of Peter Hewat (there would’ve been a replacement for God), who moved to England in the autumn.  The Australian full-back’s haul included one of his side’s three tries, the others coming from Seilala Mapasua and former Falcon Stuart Mackie.

The late withdrawal of Toby Flood with an ankle injury sees Steve Jones in at centre alongside Tom Dillon, whilst the Wilsons David and Brent also start as Carl Hayman is rested on the bench, from where Micky Young could make his first appearance.

15 Mathew Tait
14 Tom May
13 Tom Dillon
12 Steve Jones
11 John Rudd
10 Jonny Wilkinson
9 James Grindal
1 Micky Ward
2 Andy Long
3 David Wilson
4 Andy Perry
5 Mark Sorenson
6 Andy Buist
7 Brent Wilson
8 Phil Dowson (captain)

Replacements:
16 Matt Thompson
17 Carl Hayman
18 Geoff Parling
19 Russell Winter
20 Ed Williamson
21 Micky Young
22 Tim Visser

Director of Rugby Brian Smith has assembled a solid though unspectacular squad at Irish (one of the four best in Europe, no less), through mixing British talent with a number of quality foreigners.

The team for Sunday includes Australian full-back Peter Hewat and a quality three-quarter line, with England international Shane Geraghty in the centre.  In the second row, stealer Nick Kennedy is on the bench but captain ‘Big’ Bob Casey is in the team alongside James Hudson.  A massive southern hemisphere front row also beckons, but England internationals Mike Catt and Peter Richards are not travelling.

15. Peter Hewat
14. Topsy Ojo
13. Seilala Mapusua
12. Shane Geraghty
11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
10. Eoghan Hickey
9. Paul Hodgson
1. Tonga Lea’aetoa
2. Danie Coetzee
3. Faan Rautenbach
4. James Hudson

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