Booth, Armitage ice the Exiles cake
Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:11
London Irish ended off an excellent November by having Head Coach Toby Booth and flank Steffon Armitage named as Guinness Premiership Coach and Player of the Month respectively.
Both London Irish and Gloucester Rugby claimed 100 percent records during the month of November, their good form lifting them to first and second in the table respectively.
Exiles Head Coach Booth has made a strong start to his career at the helm of London Irish, guiding his team to wins over Newcastle Falcons, Saracens and Bristol in November.
This good run was achieved not only without a number of Pacific Island stars who have contributed so much to the cause in recent seasons, but also without new England caps Delon Armitage and Nick Kennedy, whose strong showings for their country are testament to Booth's work at the club over a number of seasons in tandem with former Director of Rugby, Brian Smith.
Booth will get a chance to pit his wits against Dean Ryan, the other contender for the award, when the top two meet at the Madejski Stadium in the next round of Guinness Premiership matches on Saturday, December 20.
Steffon Armitage is named the Guinness Premiership Player of the Month for November after playing a crucial role in all three of their victories during the month.
Armitage began on the bench against Newcastle, but came on 17 minutes into the second half and scored his second try of the season and the ninth of his Premiership career. In the next two matches he played the full 80 minutes, helping his side to wins against his old team Saracens and Bristol Rugby. His award caps a good month for the Armitage brothers, with Delon arguably the pick of England's players in the autumn internationals.
Steffon was named in the England Saxons squad at the start of the season and has a chance to force himself into contention for full caps with more strong performances for his club in the build up to the Six Nations.
There was also special mention for Gloucester Rugby's committed forward Peter Buxton, who guided his side to three wins from their three matches in November and doubled his career Premiership try tally by scoring twice in the defeat of Bristol on November 21.
Round nine of the Guinness Premiership takes place on Saturday, December 20, with all six matches in the round being played that day. Leaders London Irish play second placed Gloucester Rugby and third placed Bath Rugby play fourth placed Sale Sharks at the Recreation Ground.
With thanks to london-irish.com
