Exiles heading to Twickenham
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:46
London Irish have confirmed their plans for the build-up to the start of the club's 12th consecutive season of Premiership Rugby - a pre-season that includes a visit to Twickenham.
The Exiles will play three pre-season fixtures as they build-up to the opening of the 2008-09 Guinness Premiership campaign - which starts against London Wasps, the current champions, at the London double-header at Twickenham, on September 6.
The first of their fixtures will be played at Sunbury on Friday, August 15 - when London Irish's former player Glenn Delaney will bring his Nottingham team back to The Avenue (kick-off 19.30 - 18.30 GMT).
The following day a strong London Irish team will participate in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham.
A week later London Irish will make the short journey down the A316 to the Twickenham Stoop for a fixture with old friends and rivals Harlequins. The match will be played on Saturday August 23 and will kick off at 15.00 (14.00 GMT).
The following weekend brings the undoubted highlight of pre-season with a visit to Cork for a match with Heineken Cup winners Munster, on Friday August 29.
This will be the Irish province's first home fixture since their success in Cardiff and Musgrave Park is sure to be sold out. The match will kick off at 19.30 (18.30 GMT).
Commenting on the club's pre-season plans London Irish Coach Toby Booth said: "There is nothing like real match action for putting pre-season preparations to the test.
"This year we also have the new experimental law variations [ELVs] to get used to. The fixtures will enable our squad to test the ELVs in real match conditions, to measure themselves against competitive opposition and give our supporters a taste of what they can expect when the season starts."
