Sitting In The Cheap Seats

In the midst of the first run of Challenge Cup games London Irish are flexing their squad depth, giving players a rest here and there and allowing depth players opportunities as they did throughout the restart period. But a few players are continually relied on to support the team. One of them, a player whose stature rose in every game through the summer was George Nott the former Sale Sharks second row has evolved into one of the Exiles’ most reliable performers with a run of quietly strong performances. We caught up with him this week to get his thoughts on how the season is going. “The restart was great for me. As unfortunate as it was in the grand scheme of things, for me personally it was an opportunity to string some games together and develop my confidence. That’s carried onto this year as well.” If there’s a first impression I get from speaking to George it’s that he’s one to always look on the bright side. He saw the positives for himself even while acknowledging that the re...

After years in the planning, London Irish returned to London a couple of weeks ago. A week later they were able to welcome fans back to the game too. Now they’re on a short break from league action to focus on Europe. It’s all go for the club so we caught up with Theo Brophy Clews to dig into the mood in camp ahead of a trip to Agen.

This Sunday at a little after 4pm history will be made for London Irish as, after twenty years in the wilderness (or the Thames Valley if you prefer) they will finally, truly, return to London. Sure, the deal to play at the Brentford Community Stadium has been signed for some time now, but it only means so much until a game is actually played! As we approach the second week of a league season that has started behind closed doors you might feel that the move would be a little anti-climactic for Irish, but every noise out of the club is positive and brimming with excitement. The players have had a chance to test out the ground in an inter-squad friendly and club staff have visited a couple of times to get a feel for the place too. Les Kiss , head coach at Irish is just one of the positive voices at the club. “I only had a year or two at the Madejski and it was probably more ideal for the opposition to come there… they had a big dressing room and nice facilities. It wasn’t like that Lei...

Last week England comfortably beat France in Grenoble, so you’d be forgiven for expecting an equally straightforward victory in the return fixture. The ladies in blue had other ideas though and the game was all the more entertaining for it!

One of the all-time greatest musicals ANYTHING GOES is making a welcome return to the London stage in spring and summer 2021 for a strictly limited 15 week engagement at the Barbican Theatre, starring Emmy & SAG Award Winner Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) who is making her West End musical debut as Reno Sweeney, and Tony, Olivier & BAFTA Award Winner Robert Lindsay as Moonface Martin. This splendid production of Cole Porter & P.G. Wodehouse’s classic musical will be directed and choreographed by three time Tony Award Winner Kathleen Marshall . Marshall’s Broadway production of ANYTHING GOES was a major smash hit and received huge critical acclaim.  The revival was nominated for nine Tony Awards and 10 Drama Desk Awards, winning Best Musical Revival and Best Choreography at both ceremonies. Now Marshall, in her West End directing debut, will reinvent this glorious musical for London audiences next year. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter and the original book b...

The news all Red Roses fans have been waiting for is out, we now know who the team will face of against in the group stage of next year’s World Cup and it’s made this weekend an even more spicy affair! England have drawn old enemies France in their group as well as rising talents South Africa and perennial world cup wildcards Fiji who will bring their usual flair and unpredictability. We caught up with head coach Simon Middleton and captain Sarah Hunter to find out their reactions.

This autumn has been all about experimentation for the Red Roses, with new players being brought in and new combinations tried out but there has been one ever present…Since returning from the Sevens programme Ellie Kildunne has grabbed hold of the 15 shirt and showed no inclination to let it go!