'We just want to stick to our mantra of enjoy the moment' - London Irish raring to go in pursuit of play-offs
Declan Kidney's side face Saracens and Exeter Chiefs in their final two games of the regular season
©PA
This weekend will be crucial for London Irish’s hopes of bagging a spot in the top four of the Gallagher Premiership.
On Sunday, they travel to league leaders Saracens in good form - having won their last three games in the league - and they sit just two points outside the play-offs.
If they were to defeat Saracens at the StoneX on Sunday and follow that up with a victory over Exeter Chiefs in their final game on May 6th, Irish would secure a top-four spot which would be a massive achievement for the club and a sign of real improvement.
The Exiles haven't finished in the play-off places since 2009 (the year they last made the Premiership final) and Director of Rugby Declan Kidney has urged his side to "enjoy the moment" and not get overwhelmed by the occasion
He said: “We just want to stick to our mantra of ‘enjoy the moment’ and ‘play in the moment.’ We said if we did that, the league table would look after itself by the end of the year.
"We’re looking forward to getting back onto the pitch. You can have a lot of games, but there’s nothing worse than no games at all so players are fairly keen to get back out there."
To combat the four-week lay-off which Irish have endured, they played fixtures behind closed doors to keep themselves fresh and game-ready for competitive rugby.
Kidney added: "We got in a few fixtures. We had a game against Leinster before they went to South Africa. It kept the boys ticking over and then some of the lads who have had a fair bit of pitch time some rest and they’ve been back in training for the last couple of weeks.
"A lot of the guys who played in the [Premiership] Cup final [against Exeter Chiefs] played in that game against Leinster and it was good for them to get another run out."
After putting together a three-game winning streak, this break from the league may have come at a difficult time, halting the momentum they have been able to build.
"It’s bound to be a discussion point and you can get side-tracked by these things," said Kidney. "Similarly, if you’re playing week-in-week-out, you can pick up bangs and knocks and suspensions and whatever comes with playing every week.
"We’ve had about three or four weeks without a competitive match but we’ve done the very best that we can and we believe strongly in what we’ve put together for Sunday."
Saracens have already secured their spot in the play-offs - as well as a home semi-final - but they will be keen to get back on track after their 38-29 loss at Northampton Saints last weekend which followed their Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to La Rochelle.
"It’s a massive game for us," Kidney said. "We’re playing against a side that will be hurting after the last two weeks. They’re a side who want to finish at the top of the league so it’s as tougher a fixture as you can get at this stage of the season.
"We have a huge amount of respect for them but this is why you get into the sport, to challenge yourself against the best. We’ve learned from other big matches in the last couple of years that you can get tied up into the occasion too much. It’s about being close to 100 per cent process driven so we can go out and play our own game."
This year, Tom Pearson has been a real standout player for the club and his efforts have been rewarded as he was named the Gallagher Premiership Player of the Month for March.
Kidney is obviously delighted with his progress. His performances warrant international consideration but when asked
whether Pearson should be in the mix for England, Kidney didn’t want to put selectors, or Pearson, under pressure to pick him.
"I remember being asked at the start of the season which of our new players I was looking forward to seeing the most and I was most excited to see our younger players and how much they would mature. Guys like Tom (Pearson), Ben Loader, Ollie Hassell-Collins, they’re all maturing nicely and they’re all getting more consistent.
"If players perform consistently, then they are going to get spoken about. In my experience, I’m not going to put either the international selectors or the player under pressure. As long as the player is performing consistently, that is as much as they can do that is in their control.”
Back to Sunday, and London Irish already have a win over Saracens this season - having beaten them 29-20 just before Christmas - so they will be looking to do the double.
"There were small things in that match that went our way and I’d imagine it will be same the on Sunday," Kidney said. "We definitely needed to get a win at that stage. Saracens were flying and at this stage, they’re coming off two losses so they’ll be looking to get their win.
"It’s just as important, even more important, for us to get the result. It has all the makings of a cracker."
