L Irish v Northampton: Teams
London Irish head coach Toby Booth has refused to give up hope of reaching the play-offs ahead of the visit of Northampton.
Last Updated: 08/05/10 10:28am
London Irish head coach Toby Booth has refused to give up hope of reaching the Premiership play-offs ahead of the visit of second-placed Northampton.
The Exiles need to beat the Saints, then hope both Bath and Wasps slip up if they are to snatch the final spot in the end of season showdown.
And Booth admits that his side know exactly what is needed of them.
"Undoubtedly, there is a lot riding on the outcome of tomorrow's match and any chance of reaching the play-offs will keep us firmly focused on winning," said Booth.
"We are determined to battle all the way, secure the points and capitalise on any opportunities put in front of us."
Booth has tweaked his line-up with Richard Thorpe and Chris Hala'Ufia returning to the back-row, free-scoring Sailosi Tagicakibau makes his long awaited return from injury.
Mike Catt could make his last ever appearance - depending on play-off ambitions - off the bench, while Topsy Ojo has been passed fit to join him among the replacements.
Improvements
Northampton have set their sights on securing the win that would guarantee them a home semi-final against Saracens in the play-offs.
However, having slipped up against Sarries last time out, director of rugby Jim Mallinder knows his side can take nothing for granted.
"We're in a good position and we know our destiny is in our own hands for a home Premiership semi-final," Mallinder said, who has named his strongest available team for the clash.
"That's what we're aiming for and we want to finish the regular season with a win at London Irish tomorrow afternoon.
"We will have to make a lot of improvement from our last game against Saracens. We didn't play well in that game, but the reaction of the players has been very positive and they have all worked hard in training.
"We are certainly paying a lot of respect to London Irish. They like to run the ball and have some powerful runners in the backs and the forwards, who they like to keep involved to put them over the gain line."
London Irish: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Tom Homer, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Elvis Seveali'i, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Paul Hodgson (capt), 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Richard Thorpe, 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Kieran Roche, 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 Danie Coetzee, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 James Tideswell, 19 Andy Perry, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Topsy Ojo, 22 Mike Catt, 23 Jamie Lennard.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Neil Best, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Alan Dickens, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Joe Ansbro.