By GTD
April 19 2006

This weekend sees our most important match of the season so far against Newcastle and it’s all square. Following our hard fought 20-23 win up at Kingston park back in November and the Falcons 6-9 victory in February at the Madejski there really is nothing in it !! It’s the Semi-final of the European Challenge Cup. The competition we used to verbally discard as the ‘Bic biro thing’. It could now be our real opportunity for the Heineken Cup action we’re all desperately seeking. All of a sudden it seems a much more important trophy!

No doubt our destiny in this competition and indeed the GP will come down to the “H-F-C”. That’s the Hodgson – Flutey – Catt combination which seems to lead to all that is good for Irish in recent times.

Jonny made a welcome return to action (again) for the Falcons last weekend in their impressive defeat of Sale coming on in the second half to make some “neat contributions”. Meanwhile Irish were battling to a 28-24 victory over a battling Leeds team fighting for impossible survival.

The battle could well be fought out in the packs and I’d expect London Irish to edge that department on recent performances especially in the Line Outs.

Both sides have performed well in this competition beating Connacht and Bayonne in the last round.

Irish are fighting to stay in a playoff place while this is Newcastle’s only chance of an HC place next season.

Let’s hope Irish want to stop them more than they want it!

Let’s hope come 21st May it’s Irish on the ticket carrying off an historic cup win – their first since the 2002 Powergen victory.

Prediction : Irish v Gloucester on 21st May. Irish by 8.