There remains one game to go in the domestic season but when JP Doyle blew the final whistle at the Madejski Stadium London Irish's departure from the Premiership was confirmed.
It was little consolation to the dejected and emotionally spent Irish players that they had put in a performance that was filled with guts and heart. Indeed their 80 minutes against Harlequins was one of their strongest of the Premiership season however as has been the case all year the fact that they couldn't quite mange to finish the big moments made the difference.
In the immediate aftermath of the game Tom Coventry was hurting but ever the professional he addressed the room with honesty and shared his thoughts about the match and their previous 21 rounds. Tom praised the development of younger individuals in the squad, the work of the academy system and also started to discuss the areas that he believed they had fallen short on citing a lack of the 'rugby maturity required to win the big games' as a key contributing factor.
Of course maturity doesn't arrive over night nor does the process of implementing new thoughts and ideas regarding a club's direction and playing style. At the start of the season that was the ambition for Tom Coventry and his assistant coaches; to develop Irish's style of play and grow from there. Following the defeat to Harlequins he said that he didn't believe that those plans for developing their style were overly ambitious and I agree with him. Instead a lack of confidence and a spot of performance anxiety hindered their progress. Tackling five of the top six teams from last year in the opening five rounds didn't provide an straightforward platform to work off and once on they were on back foot London Irish lost their chance of momentum. As their confidence wained opportunities that used to become easy to execute became a challenge and the mountain that they had to climb grew higher as the rounds ticked by.
While 19-year-old Theo Brophy Clews’ emergence has been a positive for the Exiles, alongside Johnny Williams in the centres, Irish badly missed the presence of an experienced fly-half. For a few seasons 10 has been an area of concern but with the prospect of Andy Goode’s arrival that would have changed. He wouldn't have provided a long-term solution but would have steered the ship with ease this season. Personally I'm surprised that Irish didn't look to bring in someone with experience sooner once Andy announced his retirement and when Greg Tonks arrived he didn't set the world alight as they would have liked. Coupled with this gap at fly-half the time that World Cup winner Ben Franks spent on the sidelines was another significant hurdle that they couldn’t quite overcome. While he still would have been able to impart knowledge verbally at training not being in the heart of scrummaging sessions and on the field at the weekend took away from the Exiles’ output.
So what happens now? Well, I'll start by stating the obvious, their time in the Championship needs to be short-lived. The Exiles cannot afford to get sucked into the Championship and take their time about bouncing back, instead it has to be instant. Of course the first immediate action will be a season review, as would happen win, lose or draw and from that Tom Coventry and his team need to quickly formulate which players will be staying and which will be leaving. Nick Kennedy is doing a marvellous job rebuilding the side's academy and at every single age grade he has some very talented individuals progressing through. Without doubt those at the top end of his system must play a key part in next season's output and holding onto their academy prospects is of the utmost importance.
We've seen sides drop before and come back into the Aviva Premiership stronger, and more well rounded, clubs. London Irish have good people at the helm, Bob Casey is an astute businessman, he knows everything that there is to know about rugby as well as someone that lives and breathes London Irish. As mentioned Nick Kennedy is ensuring that their academy is becoming healthier by the day and is hell bent on making sure that their home grown talents want to stay with them. Finally the quality of their infrastructure and the facilities that they have at Hazelwood are of the standard to facilitate success. In short Irish are a prime candidate to bounce back quickly.
We've seen sides drop before and come back into the Aviva Premiership stronger, and more well rounded, clubs. London Irish have good people at the helm, Bob Casey is an astute businessman, he knows everything that there is to know about rugby as well as someone that lives and breathes London Irish. As mentioned Nick Kennedy is ensuring that their academy is becoming healthier by the day and is hell bent on making sure that their home grown talents want to stay with them. Finally the quality of their infrastructure and the facilities that they have at Hazelwood are of the standard to facilitate success. In short Irish are a prime candidate to bounce back quickly.
As is always the case with a side that is confirmed to be departing Premiership competition there are plenty of uncertainties and raw emotions right now. Alas the harsh reality is that they have to prepare for one final Premiership match and the trip to the Ricoh Arena, and the week of preparation prior, will be physically and mentally draining for all.
