Our last competitive fixture at Sunbury was in the Pilkington Cup on 23^rd December 1995, the home side winning 21-3 in an Arctic gale and torrential rain - proper rugby weather!

The Welsh XV that day was;

R Phillips; D Lubliner, P Shaw, S Thomas, T Pike; C Raymond, G Phillips; M Herbert, A Tucker (capt), R Thomas, D Harries, N Thomas, L Thomas, M Russell, G Peacock

Irish's only visit to Old Deer Park in the last two decades was in the last 16 of the Tetley Bitter Cup on 11th November 2000, a game which they won 33-10.

Our line-up on that occasion was;

M Vines; A Jones, S Roskell, A Bidwell, J Philip; A Lee, R Elliott; S Pope, G Botterman, I Buckett, C Eagle, C Langley, M White, L Jones (capt), M Fitzgerald

For London Irish, last season's success has been recognised by Martin Johnson & Rob Andrew, who named three players (Delon & Steffon Armitage and Paul Hodgson) in the England Elite squad, with a further four (Topsy Ojo, Nick Kennedy, Alex Corbisiero and David Paice) in the Saxons. In addition, centre Seilala Mapasua was voted Premiership Player of the Year by his fellow professionals last season.

Irish have bolstered their squad over the summer months, signing three fly-halves - Chris Malone (Quins), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester) and Jamie Lennard (Doncaster) - to replace the retiring Mike Catt and departing Shane Geraghty (Northampton). Further newcomers include Andy Perry (second row, Newcastle), and props James Tideswell (Plymouth) and Paulica Ion (Bath). Catt is now a full-time member of the coaching staff, working alongside Toby Booth and fellow new appointments Justin Bishop and Dave Ellis.

Among the departures from London Irish this summer, centre/winger Dom Shabbo has joined London Welsh. He's the latest in a growing number of players who have represented both clubs in recent seasons, following - amongst others - Matt Cannon, Kevin Burke, Darren Edwards, Lee Starling, Tim Holgate, and the late Pierre Durant. In addition, we have had Richard Catt and Michael Tagicakibau (brothers of Mike and Sailosi respectively) in our ranks. The two clubs have been rivals on the pitch for 110 years and 128 meetings (Welsh currently lead the series 80-38 with 10draws), but ties have never been stronger, with Danny arranging ‘live' scrummaging and line-out sessions with Toby Booth last season. We have stated our aims at the start of the new season as being a Premiership side within three years, and what better test than a gentle warm-up against one of the top teams in the country?

The nights are drawing in and I, for one, can't wait...