LONDON Irish will carry an 11 point lead into their Greene King IPA Championship play-off final 2nd leg encounter tonight, May 24, against Yorkshire Carnegie.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm with a large attendance expected at the Madejski Stadium for Irish’s potential coronation as champions of English club rugby’s second tier.
The Exiles produced an impressive away performance in the first leg with a 29-18 victory at Headingley following tries from Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and Fergus Mulchrone.
Irish have no fresh injury concerns going into their final game of the season.
Despite the comfortable margin of victory, Nick Kennedy’s man battled for supremacy in a tight, physical encounter where Yorkshire were desperate to take any kind of lead into the second leg.
But despite trailing at half-time, Irish displayed the class and composure that has ensured they have lost just three games all season.
Brendan McKibbin of London Irish (Picture: Phil Mingo/PPAUK)The Exiles are now within touching distance of returning to the Aviva Premiership at the first time of asking after relegation at the end of last season.
Utility back Tommy Bell, who kicked five penalties and two conversions in a masterful performance with the boot against Carnegie, said Irish are desperate for the Championship league title to reward their loyal supporters.
“The club deserves to be in the Premiership and everyone has worked extremely hard both on and off the field to put us in a position to go back up,” said Bell, 24.
“Our supporters have been amazing throughout the season and have travelled the length and breadth of the country to watch us play. Hopefully we can give them their reward in the second leg by gaining promotion back to the Premiership.”
Director of Rugby, Nick Kennedy, proved his worth once again by rallying his troops against a highly-motivated Carnegie outfit.
There will be a tense atmosphere at the Madejski given the high stakes involved for both teams.
The TV and commercial revenues on offer for Premiership teams could help Irish attract even more top international players should promotion be secured.
The Exiles’ incredible home record all season gives them a strong advantage for the second leg.
Bell said coming though the away leg with a victory was a huge psychological boost for the team.
He added: “We knew that they would get their fair share of opportunities to test our defensive resolve and vice versa during periods of the game.
"That’s just the nature of rugby and momentum swings happen.
"The key to it is how well we cope with the pressure that is put on us and I thought we coped with that very well.
"To come back from a tough first half and put ourselves in the position that we are in now was a huge effort from all of the boys.
“We talked before the game about the importance of being able to handle the occasion in the best possible way and the ability to play smart and physical rugby.
"Yorkshire were certainly very much up for the battle and we had to match their physicality early on, which we did.”
