Topsy Ojo's Testimonial Year - The Launch Party

Last night Topsy Ojo celebrated the launch of his testimonial year at London Irish, it is hard to believe that such a young guy is celebrating a testimonial but it is true, Topsy joined the London Irish academy at the age of 18 in 2003 with a couple of other well-known names - Nick Kennedy and Declan Danaher. With so much promiscuity of players moving between clubs, 3 years is now considered to be long service, let alone 5 or even 10... therefore a full year of celebrations is definitely justified!!

In the 10 years that Topsy has been at London Irish he has experienced more than his fair share of highs and lows… from the dizzy heights of the 2009 Aviva Premiership Final to the fight for relegation last season it certainly hasn’t been a quiet 10 years. He has made 192 appearances and scored 305 points to date and I’ve no doubt that by the end of this season he will be tipping 350 points easily... with his try scoring ability and outrageous feet 9 or 10 tries in a season is more than achievable!!

As well as honouring the man himself Topsy’s Testimonial Year is in aid of 3 outstanding charities Restart (the Rugby Players’ Benevolent Fund), VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) and The African Child Trust. There is also a truly fantastic mix of supporters; Nandos, a stable in any rugby players diet (Nando’s Black Cards all around I hope), Dot Comms for everything digital and marketing wise, Whey Hey the delightful protein ice-cream, One Piece for epic onesies and finally New Era Caps, Topsy’s personal favourite and our hosts for the evening.

New Era's HQ is in Shoreditch... and many of you may know that I don't normally venture too much further East than Liverpool Street and before you all jump to conclusions this is not due to snobbery, it is actually due to the fact I am totally and utterly not cool enough for Shoreditch. I am not creative and cannot put amazingly clashing prints together and rock the ‘random’ look; I just end up looking like I’ve raided the school lost property box so Shoreditch is usually a “no” for me!! Therefore an adventure East for something that I do know about and love, rugby, was a perfect excuse to try and fit in for once!!! 

The format of the night was simple… to celebrate all things Topsy! Having been to a few events like this before it was great to see the huge amount support that Topsy received from his team-mates. From the more established players to the newbies they were out in force - Declan Danaher, Tomas O’Leary, Ian Humphreys, Marland Yarde and  Sailosi Tagicakibau, to name but a few. 

As with all good events there was an auction which yours truly couldn’t help but get actively involved with, much to the horror of my friends I’d taken with me. I’m sure you will all understand that this was a part of the night that I wanted to excel in… with prizes like a Corporate Box at the Madjeski and Autumn International Tickets my competitive side did come out! I started bidding hard however sadly for me I lost out to men with bigger wallets who didn't offer to share their prizes with me!!!

For those of you who haven't met Topsy off the field before he is one of the nicest men in rugby... a quiet, down-to-earth guy who is extremely personable and fiercely loyal to the club that gave him his big break. Despite being London Irish's top try scorer there is no bravado or ego; Topsy is just an extremely talented rugby player and genuinely nice guy. As Dec Danaher rightly pointed out Topsy still smashes all the fitness tests, keeping the young guns on their toes and setting the bar very high for them to try and reach. Having someone like Dec talk about the respect he has for Topsy on and off the field speaks volumes for the person and player that Topsy is and I really couldn't think of two better senior players for a club to have  than Dec and Topsy. This season is one of the most important in London Irish's history and with players like Topsy and Dec leading the way for Irish I've no doubt that they will prove all of the doubters wrong and have a stormer. 

Last night was just the start of the celebratory journey; with the Testimonial Gala Dinner and The Golf Day still to come (for all tickets contact Dominie Bradshaw) it is set to be a fabulous year of celebrations to honour a true London Irish legend.

Reds, Yellows and More - Aviva Premiership Round 2

The battle of the big guns, a couple of ‘relegation’ battles, a 100 year centenary match and the small matter of Saracens vs. Gloucester – no wonder the anticipation and excitement I felt for round 2 was like a child on their birthday!!!

After a week of speculation and turmoil regarding the future of the Heineken Cup it was nice to get back to the good old dependable Aviva Premiership and focus on some actual rugby.  The first stop was the Battle of the Big Guns at The Stoop on Friday night; Northampton Saints and Harlequins fighting it out, tooth and nail (perhaps not the best phrase to use after last weekend’s Dan Cole debacle, but I think you get my drift) to prove that they will be the ones in the mix come the final rounds of the season.  On a rainy night in South West London both teams equipped themselves much better than you would have expected given the conditions and the final result was decided by one beautifully finished move from Saints' James Wilson. For a deeper review on this game have a look at the earlier posts; 'Let The Battle Commence' and 'The Results'. 

Saturday provided us with 3 matches, Chiefs vs. Wasps, Worcester vs. London Irish and Bath vs. Tigers – easy ones to predict right!? Wasps, Worcester and Tigers to win… however the players had other ideas! We all know about the 'Sandy Park Factor', it is as valuable to the Chiefs as Twickenham is to England, however the question was would this be enough to beat a young and sprightly Wasps side? The answer… yes with a little help from the players themselves!?! It may not have been the prettiest of victories but it was a victory nonetheless. For Exeter Tom James, the Welsh winger, is definitely a man to watch with two big tries on his debut. For Wasps it will be a match to forget, as Joe Simpson rightly observed “They had a 20 minute purple patch where they tore us apart and that is not acceptable.” The losing bonus point will be a consolation however I'm pretty sure that Dai Youngs will not be a happy man tonight! 




Dean Ryan’s first home game in charge couldn’t have been tighter at Sixways, and sadly for him it was Ian Humphreys' late penalty that ensured that Irish came away with the win and not his side. Another top class performance from Marland Yarde means that the rugby world continues to talk about his future England prospects and Worcester will be disappointed that they didn't keep their discipline in check and finish off the match when they had their chances.   

Exactly 100 years ago Leicester Tigers hosted Bath Rugby at Welford Road and enjoyed a 19 to 5 point victory. Pre-match Bath weren't given too much of a chance by most however Mike Ford's men had other ideas. His young squad were extremely impressive; Gavin Henson started for the first time at his new club (I’m sure that I’ve written those words before!!?!!) and performed well and George Ford showed no signs of intimidation against his former club slotting a mere 17 points. Unsurprisingly Mike Ford was elated “To beat any side like Leicester, that has 9 Premiership Final wins, you never knock that!”… at least it makes a change from him being asked about picking his son and favouritism!! For Leicester they have to hope that their injury list doesn't keep on growing - Tom Croft, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs and Toby Flood are the key names on it at the moment. This won't mean anything to Cockers' who I'm pretty sure won't have enjoyed watching this one on BT Sport and will want more from the rest of his squad next weekend. 
 

The final match of the weekend was at Allianz Park - Saracens kicking off their home fixtures against a Gloucester side that was desperately seeking redemption after such a poor Round 1. Nick Wood's 2nd minute stamp on Jacques Burger and subsequent Red Card didn't really give Gloucester too much of a chance in the end. The incident itself didn't look to nice on screen and I'm sure will be dealt with accordingly. Gloucester were valiant in their efforts until half time, working their socks off however 14 vs. 15 is not a way to play a rugby match. In the second half it did get worse, from a numbers perspective with a yellow for Sione Kalamafoni leaving just 13 men on the pitch!  Saracens looked strong and composed throughout, James Johnson had his first run out, Chris Ashton continue to be the hardest working winger off the ball with his support lines and Farrell's boot wasn't too shabby either. On the whole I wouldn't draw huge conclusions from this one for either team given the circumstances… but what I will say is that Gloucester really do need to put away Saints at home next weekend or things won't be too pretty at Kingsholm!



So that's Round 2 done and dusted… a mere 245 points this weekend, 3 less than last weekend, however certainly the same level of drama! Yellow cards, red cards, tries, TMOs and more… Saracens remain sitting pretty at the top of the table whilst Gloucester are the surprise package at the bottom.  

Heading back into the working week you will be pleased to know that there are only 138 hours to go until kick off at Sixways between Worcester and Harlequins on Friday night. Breaking up my week will be a night out to celebrate the launch of Topsy Ojo's Testimonial Year… so look out for all of the gossip from that one and then before you know it we will be back into Round 3… happy days!

The Results: Harlequins vs. Northampton Saints

A cold and miserable night greeted the most highly anticipated match of the weekend. The tears of frustration poured nearly as heavily as the raindrops in South West London, as such a hotly tipped game was set to be ruined by the good old British weather. However we shouldn’t have been so pessimistic, as the Saints and Quins players had other ideas and provided us with a match that was better than the conditions.

The second surprise of the night was that Stephen Myler proved to be the more accurate of the two 10s... often billed as an 'iffy kicker', he put on a strong display landing some extremely difficult kicks. Nick Evans' radar was slightly off and in fact it was Ben Botica who steadied the Quins ship in the second half.

However the focus wasn't on the battle of the 10s... as we all know there were some other huge individual battles going on... so let's take look at how they panned out;

The Battle Up Front: Alex Corbisiero vs. Joe Marler – With standing water, sheeting rain and the new scrum laws to contest with, it wasn’t an easy night for these two. Both equipped themselves well, muscling up and driving their teams from the front however in my book it was Corbisiero who came off best. Corbs looked as sharp and on point as he was in Australia and not even a significant bang on the head could keep him down as he showed just why Stuart Lancaster & Warren Gatland have such faith in him. Let’s be clear here, Joe Marler did not have a bad game, he played well and he is still a top Premiership forward, however just not quite as good as Corbs… in my book anyway. Result: Alex Corbisiero - Winner

Corbs won the battle up front in dismal conditions

The Battle of the 9s: Danny Care vs. Kahn Fotulai'i - It pains me to say that Kahn Fotualai’I wasn’t at his enigmatic best last night... the sniping breaks and cheeky hands just weren’t there. Danny Care, although he got frustrated at times and could have been slightly more direct in his movement, did a solid job at 9 and came off better. I’m certainly not going to write off Foutlai’I because I’m sure that he will provide us with some of the greatest moments in the Premiership this season… however last night he didn't shine and the Battle of the 9’s went to Danny Care.  Result: Danny Care - Winner

The Captain’s Battle: Chris Robshaw vs. Tom Wood – What a match up this was and this one I think did live up to its expectations. We saw 2 huge men, with outrageous work rates, at the top of their games, fighting it out for the England Captain’s armband… happy Friday night rugby lovers! Personally I couldn’t see much between them and I wouldn’t like to be Stuart Lancaster with this decision to make as both men would lead England well. Let’s hope the coming few weeks will provide Stuart with a little more clarity. Result: Draw – Nothing between them!

The Battle at the Back: Ben Foden vs. Mike Brown – Another England battle and another headache for Stuart Lancaster! Both lived up to  their pre-match billing and both provided a solid platform for their team to work off in hugely difficult conditions. The only major difference was the way in which they went about this – Fodes, the cheeky chappy, always professional but doesn’t mind to have a smile or two on the pitch. Whereas Brown or Asbo as many Quins fans know him as, was as steeling and angry as ever – I believe it is what you call ‘ultra-competitive’. Result: Draw - Pick your personal favourite, there’s not much between them. 

The Most Exciting Battle: George North vs. Everyone – A quiet night for our Lions darling, no Folau moment and no huge breaks. He said himself this morning ‘last night was not a winger’s game’ and he was right. Still like every great player his sheer presence on the pitch put 'the fear' into every member of the opposition and on a drier night and I would have been penning a very different write up this morning. Result – A Quiet Night for North... the winner, sadly everyone, but watch this space!

So the final score Harlequins 6 Northampton Saints 13 – all in all a fair reflection of the night. Harlequins will be slightly disappointed and Saints will be satisfied. A lot can change in the 112 days until these two meet again however I'm pretty sure that one thing is for certain - the match will be just as intense as last night, although hopefully slightly less wet!

Let the Battle Commence - Harlequins vs. Northampton Saints

Round 2, just 480 minutes of rugby have been played and already we have the match that some people are tipping to be the clash of the season. It is rare that a game so early on has such a high level of expectation however tonight's clash between Harlequins and Northampton Saints at The Stoop is set to be HUGE in every way.

As we all know Saints made some killer signings at the end of last season – George North, Alex Corbisiero, Kahn Fotulai'i - huge players designed to come in and ensure that Saints aren't the nearly men again this season. In contrast Harlequins made minimal and late signings, forced mostly by injury as opposed to a huge desire to grow their squad – Paul Doran Jones, Nick Kennedy and Paul Sackey all arrived.  Instead Conor O’Shea is focusing on his home grown academy talent, with many tipped to have 'breakthrough seasons' this year – Luke Wallace, Charlie Walker and Rob Buchanan as examples. Take these young whippersnappers and put them with the 'old guard' and that is the formulation that Conor is hoping will take them all the way this year.

So just why is this match so exciting??? Both sides are teams that play fast paced rugby, they are Top 4 teams – some say Top 2 depending on whom you speak to… that alone demonstrates the quality that will see out on the pitch tonight. Add onto that the individual battles that will be going on and that is why this match is HUGE! I’ve no doubt that Stuart Lancaster will be watching intently on BT Sport to see how the evening’s action pans out. I mentioned individual battles, to get us in the mood and warmed up let's take a little look at a couple shall we;

Up Front: Alex Corbisiero vs. Joe Marler – The Tour Winning Lion vs. The ‘On The Brink’ Man… both men have huge amounts of power, just a question to throw out there early on, is Corbs the more technical scrummager!? Probably, but let’s not forget that Joe Marler never backs down without a damn good fight. Whilst some would suggest that Corbs has the Number 1 jersey sewn up and made to measure for the QBE Autumn Internationals, a storming season between now and then for Joe and it will give Stuart a nice little headache. Starting that off getting one up against his rival will certainly do him a lot of favours! Equally if Corbs outshines Joe in every way then it makes Stuart's decision easy!

The Battle of the 9s: Danny Care vs. Kahn Fotulai'i – The Golden Boy of Quins & England vs. The Most Exciting Signing in the Premiership bar one. 2 heads up, opportunistic 9s, making breaks, making tackles and generally causing havoc all over the pitch… this is the battle that I am most excited at watching (for purely for rugby reasons obviously!!!!!!!! )
 

D.C will enjoy a great individual battle tonight against Kahn Fotulai'i

The Captain’s Battle: Chris Robshaw vs. Tom Wood – The Old vs. The New England Captain some might say… let’s be more factual shall we… Openside vs. Blindside.  There is no denying that this match up will have the most focus, the most press coverage and the most conclusions drawn from it. Will either man be thinking about it?? No, they are both far too professional for that, instead they will be focusing on their teams and doing the job in hand, winning tonight’s fixture. One thing that is certain is that Stuart will name only one of them to lead out England on 2nd November and the question that hangs in the balance is which??? 

 Robshaw vs. Wood - The Battle for the Captaincy

The Battle at the Back: Ben Foden vs. Mike Brown – The Battle of the England Full Backs. There was no other way to dress this one up, it is plain and simple, both play 15 extremely well, both are solid under the high ball, both love to run it from deep and make outrageous breaks however again only one will take that starting spot. Fodes looks like he’s back to his best, the ankle injury is long gone and he is fitter than ever. Brownie continues to show why he is more suited to 15 than 11/14, running the show from deep at Quins. It’s another 'watch this space' come the Autumn as to whom will grab that starting jersey, although don’t forgot to throw in Mr Alex Goode into the mix!
 
The Most Exciting Battle: George North vs. Everyone - After a solid first run out last weekend expect fireworks from George… I think that I can speak for everyone when I say that I hope that we get another Falou moment. Personally my bets are on George Lowe being given a ride on the North bus!! In all seriousness we all saw the quality of George North in Australia, he is an outstanding footballer, who has a ridiculous amount of talent… not only that but he works damn hard on and off the field to constantly improve. The down-to-earth winger is by far my favourite Welsh Player (with Leigh Halfpenny & Jamie Roberts close behind) and I cannot wait to see him take on every single Quins player on the pitch tonight.

George North vs. Everyone!

There is no doubt that this fixture is HUGE… it has a final’esque feel - Jim Mallinder’s men will want to show that they are already a cohesive and formidable team and Conor O’Shea's Harlequins want to show why his decision to stick with his existing squad is the right one and the one that will games and titles. 

Tonight is a clash of epic proportions… I will be at The Stoop taking it all in live, rain or shine. However if you can’t make it to Twickenham then I suggest that you turn on BT Sport 1, sit back, relax and enjoy a colossal game of rugby!

Upsets, Triumphs and Close Calls - Aviva Premiership Round 1

Can you believe it? Round 1 of the Aviva Premiership is over and what an opening weekend it was… 6 fixtures and 248 points later we take a breather for 4 days before it all starts again on Friday night. As opening weekends go it was up there with the best of them; huge hits, nail biting results and a big upset - we really did have it all. Not only was it our first chance to look at all of the debutantes, it was also the first time we would see the BT Sport team in match day action... and boy did they deliver.

The honour of opening the 2013/14 season went to the newly promoted Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park. Making Kingston Park into a Fortress is one of the objectives of Dean Richards this season, however entertaining a Bath team with a host of new talented players was too much of an ask for his side. Anthony Watson looked wise beyond his 19 years and on Friday night he displayed exactly why everyone is tipping him to be a future England start, orchestrating things beautifully from the back. A fellow debutante George Ford showed why he will have no problem being selected at 10 on merit, as opposed to 'family favourtism,' from Daddy Ford, as his boot was on fine form and proved to be the difference between the two sides on a rainy night in the Toon.

The London Double Header always marks the start of the season in the capital, with the fixtures the same as last year, the question pre-match was whether the results would be the same? Saracens, boosted by their pre-season trip to South Africa, quickly took charge of the game with Farrell not displaying any post Lions weariness and Jamie George showing that he is ready to take the Aviva Premiership by storm. London Irish demonstrated improvements from last season with Marland Yarde and Topsy Ojo providing the spark in a sometimes lackluster back line. Unfortunately for London Irish nerves and their inability to consistently break the gain line proved to be their downfall.

Yarde looked dangerous despite the Exiles
being overpowered by Saracens
(Point Photography)

Franklin's Gardens excitedly welcomed their new signings and showed why they could be very much in the mix again this year when it comes to May and the Aviva Premiership Final. Dylan Hartley started his path to redemption with a very early try however it was Luther Burrell who stole the show. The centre played a great role in ensuring that Saints had the bonus pointed wrapped up by half time (31-6) against a quiet looking Exeter Chiefs. George North eased himself back into rugby and fellow Lion Alex Corbiserio  was strong as ever at the scrum, not having any problem with the new scrum laws. 

Back to Twickenham and it was as game time between London Wasps and Harlequins… the 80 point fixture last season, was slightly lower scoring this year, however the last five minutes alone provided the same amount of drama. Quins look uncharacteristically sluggish with passes going astray and nothing quite going according to plan in the first half. Wasps were driven forward by the old Guard Andy Goode and their 'Wing Men', Varndell and Wade. On the whole they showed the makings of a strong side and with such a young squad Dai Youngs will be pleased with their first run out - however he might be less happy with the width of the posts at Twickenham!!?!

Kingsholm provided us with the shock of the weekend as a dis-organised and poor Gloucester side were put in their place by Steve Diamond's Sale Sharks. Prior to the fixture Sale were firmly placed as relegation suspects by most and their performance was a bit of a shock to everyone outside of their own camp! The first half was where all of the damage was inflicted and Gloucester simply weren't good enough for the full 80 minutes. No wonder Freddie Burns had trouble sleeping on Saturday night!! 

The final fixture of the weekend saw Champions Leicester Tigers kick off their defence at Welford Road against a Worcester side with a new and exciting Director of Rugby - Dean Ryan. All eyes were on Leicester TIgers newbie Ryan Lamb to see what excitement he would bring to Welford Road... as we all know Ryan can bring the sublime and the ridiculous to a match and if I'm honest today there was more of the former than the latter, which is a good thing!  Tigers didn't break into too much of a sweat over the course of 80 minutes however I'm pretty sure that Cockers' won't be happy, despite his team securing the bonus point.

On the whole Round 1 of the Aviva Premiership went according to plan… the Top 3 are the big guns; Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints and Saracens… Sale Sharks were the only one's who really provided us with the unexpected. There were some early stand out performances and as predicted a few teething problems with the new scrum laws. 

With Round 1 done and dusted we must look towards Round 2 already... it all starts on Friday night at the Stoop with Quins entertaining Northampton Saints. Elsewhere Sale take on the Falcons, the Chiefs entertain Wasps, Worcester will look to silence the Chiefs Tribe, Bath take on Tigers and Saracens welcome Gloucester to Allianz Park. Not a Round 2 really is it!!??!

No matter what result your team achieved this weekend surely you must agree with me that it feels damn good to have Premiership Rugby back in our lives again?

Look out for my next post bringing you the weekend in Twitter form with the best Tweets of the weekend and also sharing my own experience being part of the BT Sport Team today covering the Leicester vs. Worcester match live from the BT Sport studio. 

The Wait is Over - 2013/14 Season - LDH

Last year’s London Double Header was a day of two halves – Wasps vs. Quins provided a thrilling 80 pointer whilst Sarries vs. Irish was a whitewash in one direction; 40-3 to Sarries. The fixtures remain the same for this year’s double header however let’s hope that we get two thrillers instead of just one. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of the London Double Header let me give you a little bit of background; it started in 2004 and in its 9 years Twickenham has hosted 490,782 people and witnessed 793 points scored. The concept is simple to start the season with a BANG at the home of England Rugby. 

 

The honour of the first fixture in 2013 LDH goes to London Irish vs. Saracens. Yet again at the end of last season London Irish experienced a mass exodus of players, no less than 18 individuals departed Sunbury, with many now tipped as ‘ones to watch this season’ at their new clubs. Marland Yarde, Sailosi Tagicakibau and Topsy Ojo remain at the club and provide the excitement in the London Irish back line. Tomas O’Leary will need to make a nuscience of himself at scrum half and provide quick ball to release Irish's danger men whilst the forwards will need to front up against Borthwick and Co. 

The Sarries squad remains largely unchanged from last season, there are just a few key additions to note… a second Vunipola, the other Tagicakibau and Quins breakthrough player of last season James Johnston not a bad summer of signings really!?  With Owen Farrell’s boot likely to be as metronomic as ever I predict that their scoreboard will tick along in a familiar Saracens fashion again this season.

 

Double Vunipola Trouble at Saracens this year.

In the second fixture Wasps want to eradicate the painful memories from Twickenham last year when they let split a 20 point lead and were defeated by an inspired Quins team. They will look for leadership from newly announced captain Chris Bell and to their “Wing Men” Christian Wade and Tom Varndell to fuel a victory. I've not doubt that both Wade and Varndell will start this season where they left the last; scoring tries for fun and running rings around the opposition.  New fly half Andy Goode also has a key role to play to command the game from 10 and prove that there is life in the old dog yet. 

Quins have made the fewest signings of all of the Premiership teams over the summer bringing in just 3 players – Paul Doran Jones, Nick Kennedy and Paul Sackey. Their focus is to continue the champagne style of rugby that they have crafted at the Stoop over the past few years and go all the way this year. Chris Robshaw is out to show the world that he is not giving up his Quins or England shirt easily and the likes of Danny Care, Mike Brown and Nick Evans need to continue to be brilliant individually and collectively to drive this still relatively young Quins squad forward. 

This match is likely to be the tighter of the two fixtures – personally I think that Quins will come away with the win and start their season off strongly before they host George North’s Northampton the week after although Wasps won't be a push over. In the other fixture I think Sarries will be too powerful for Irish however I don’t believe it will be anywhere near the whitewash that it was last year… 5/10 points in it maybe, certainly not 40!

Twickenham is not the only ground waking up from its summer hibernation across the country Kingston Park, Kingsholm, Franklin’s Gardens and Welford Road all welcome back the sounds and smells of live Premiership Rugby. With BT Sport arriving to provide us with the most energetic and in depth coverage that we have ever seen (you just had to enjoy Rugby Tonight with Austin, Matt, Bayfs and Co. last night to see this) and the big name players who have transferred in to play in the Aviva Premiership this season is set to be one of the biggest and most exciting yet. 

The wait is nearly over… we have just over 24 hours before the starting whistle blows at Kingston Park for the fixture in the 2013/14 Aviva Premiership Season; Newcastle vs. Bath. That is just enough time to iron your club shirts, purchase your tickets, set up your BT Sport and mentally prepare yourself for one heck of a season.