IRELAND out-half David Humphreys two late tries for London Irish in the 38-26 defeat of Bristol on Saturday virtually guarantees his side a place in the Division One play-offs and a chance to hold on to their Courage League status for next season.
It is likely that the Exiles will have to play Coventry over a two-leg arrangement the week after the League ends. On the Tuesday or Wednesday following the closing date, they will play their away match and on the following Sunday they will play the home leg. Two wins would mean that they retain Division One status while in the event of a win for each club, the points aggregate will then be taken into consideration. If, by some chance, the sides are still equal, it then comes down to the number of tries scored.
Either way the retention of their status or the relegation of the team may cause problems for the IRFU and London Irish. The IRFU have made it clear that they hope to induce many of the UK-based players back to Ireland next season and if London Irish fall into the second division, it is likely that their job to entice players home will be made more easy.
But Willie Anderson, the former Irish captain and current London Irish coach, believes that it is crucial to keep Irish players competing at the highest level and that means staying in London.
"It is vital for Irish rugby that we hold players and keep Division One status. Playing in Division One week in week out is extremely beneficial to Irish lads who hope to sustain and cope with the demands of international rugby. I've played for Ireland, I've captained Ireland and I've coached in Ireland and I see this as a furtherance of that helping players to play consistently at a higher level.
"People don't understand that being able to cope with the Pienaars, the Carlings and the Stranskys consistently is critically important to their development and to their rugby.
"A lot of players have been playing at this level for 19 months. The others have been at it for five or six years. Another six to 10 months and they will be up there because we have very talented players here.
"It is very passionate to me that we in Ireland are a force in the world and that other players in other countries do not have more of a lead. Players have said that playing for Ireland has less impact on them than playing in Courage League. In the long run it would be significant for Irish rugby that the best players play regularly at the highest standard. It is my goal to try to do that."
Anderson now looks on the likely matches against Coventry as, "cup finals" with last weekend's game against Bristol a "cup tie" and he believes that London Irish have significantly changed over the last several months.
"The most significant aspect is that we now have 21 to 24 players" who can play comfortably in the first team in the Courage League. I think they're fresh now for some success. In reality we need to play more expansively but we also need to remain focused and to keep going."
Anderson is not that enthusiastic about wanting to talk about the what its and there is still a possibility of not being able to make the cut. But the chief executive at Sunbury, Duncan Leopold, adds "We want to stay up and I think we will. The players want to stay up. That's obvious. Players are contracted and that's the position we are in. I would like to think that if we did go down, then the players would stay together and say let's see how we can get up again.
"From a London Irish point of view we want to be in Division One. I would hope the IRFU realise that and would want to support London Irish over the years. A lot of players would want to play in the league here and in Europe. If that's the case it makes sense for them to play together."
The London Irish win over Bristol was their second win last week and they have four more matches to play in the league proper before their fate is finally decided.
