THE ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP played out its final regular season round last weekend, ahead of the semi-finals this week, while the Championship was already down to the last four on Saturday and Sunday.
There was Irish involvement in both leagues, and here’s how those players got on.
Aviva Premiership
Peter Stringer was heavily involved as Bath were pipped to a play-off spot due to a nail-biting 19-16 defeat to Harlequins. Conor O’Shea’s side claimed fourth spot at Bath’s expense thanks to the kicking of Nick Evans and a Mike Brown try.
36-year-old Stringer, who will play on next season at Bath, didn’t start the game, but was used as a blood sub for Micky Young in the first half, and then replaced the number nine with half an hour remaining.
The consolation for this defeat is that Mike Ford’s side will be part of the Rugby Champions Cup next season.
Niall Morris played 80 minutes on the right wing for Leicester in their four-try 31-27 victory over Saracens at Welford Road. The former Leinster man now has a semi-final to look forward to, with the Tigers away to Northampton on Friday evening.
In Saracens’ second row was Eoin Sheriff, also an ex-Leinster player, who played the entire game. This was the 25-year-old Gorey man’s fifth Premiership appearance of an impressive season.
Sarries are at home to Harlequins in the second semi-final on Saturday.
Centre Fergus Mulchrone and scrum-half Tomás O’Leary played all 80 minutes for London Irish in a 22-20 success over Sale, which sees the Exiles finish their season 10th in the league.
Jamie Hagan appeared off the bench with 29 minutes remaining, with the Irish international having been restricted to six starts in the Premiership this season. An unfortunate ankle injury at the very start of the campaign saw Leo Halavatau claim first-choice status at tighthead prop.
In Sale’s starting team was Charlie Ingall, a former Ireland Exiles and U20 cap. The 6ft 3ins London-born wing has made five Premiership starts this season, scoring one try, and has had previous spells at Wasps and Esher.
Exeter Chief’s 23-13 win away to Newcastle saw them finish the campaign in eighth position, with Ian Whitten wearing the 13 shirt. The Ulsterman has made 25 starts in all competitions in a strong season.
Gareth Steenson was used off the bench for the closing 15 minutes or so, but could not add to his individual points haul of 191 for the season.
Ireland U20 cap George McGuigan was a replacement for Newcastle, with the hooker completing 33 minutes of action in what was his 18th Premiership appearance of the campaign. McGuigan agreed to a new two-year deal with the Falcons back in February.
In Newcastle’s second-row was Ian Nagle, making his first Premiership start since joining the club on loan from Munster in February. The 25-year-old also played 12 minutes off the bench against Saracens last month.
It has already been announced that Nagle will end his time contracted to Munster this summer.
Shane Monahan, fresh from a hat-trick last weekend, was among the try-scorers in Gloucester’s 28-27 defeat to Worcester. The imposing wing, formerly with Leinster and Connacht, made three starts in this injury-hit season. Gloucester finished up in ninth position, with Director of Rugby Nigel Davies having since left the club.
Greene King IPA Championship
Sean Scanlon, Charlie Mulchrone and Michael Keating all started as the Rotherham Titans were beaten 17-14 in the first leg of their Championship semi-final against Bristol.
The three-point margin means all three former Ireland underage internationals will be hopeful of overturning that deficit in winning at home next weekend.
Titans’ captain Mulchrone has agreed to join Worcester next season, but both fullback Scanlon and wing Keating have signed on to stay at Clifton Lane until the summer of 2015 at least.
At outside centre for Bristol was Jack Tovey, who is English-born but, we are reliably informed, is qualified to play for Ireland. The 23-year-old has made six Championship starts during the current campaign.
In the highly entertaining second semi-final, London Welsh went down 38-31 away to Leeds Carnegie, with Daniel Browne and Peter Browne both involved.
The former started the game at blindside flanker, the 35-year-old’s 20th appearance of the season. Peter, a 26-year-old lock formerly with ‘Quins and Newcastle, played the closing minutes off the bench.
There was also a substitute appearance for John Quill, once an Ireland international at Schools level, but since capped seven times for the US. The 24-year-old Cork native has played six times for London Welsh since joining in February.
Did we miss any Irish-qualified players who were in action in England over the weekend? If so, leave us a comment below…
give the malvinas back then, you vile British colonialist thug.
The Falklands were never argentinian, just so you know.
The Argentine claim to The Falklands is weaker than that of Spain or France. Read some history and don’t just fall for the anti British line that comes from the usual suspects. Great riposte from the Falklanders at http://po.st/EwTMc9
Proof that some people should be prevented from breeding to stop the spread of breathtaking ignorance and general mouth breathing.
@Paul @Sean @Roy
A little Falklands history lesson….
First known sighting of the islands – 1600, Dutch.
First known to have set foot on the islands – 1690, British
(native patagonians were relatively primitive hunters and farmers, believed to engage in coastal seal hunts but with no evidence of true seafaring capability – extremely unlikely that they would have been capable of crossing 265 miles of some of the wildest oceans on the planet).
First known settlements – 1764, French, East Falkland. 1765-66, British, West Falkland. Each settlement ignorant of the presence of the other.
First involvement of the Spanish – 1767, when they took control of the French settlement.
First act of aggression – 1770, when the Spanish attacked the British colony and temporarily drove them from the islands.
By 1811 all settlers had withdrawn, leaving the islands uninhabited once again. Each settlement leaves its respective claim to the islands.
1816 – Argentine Republic founded.
1820 – Argentina claim the islands for themselves.
1828-31 – settlement established by Louis Vernet, a German merchant, after seeking permission from British and Argentine authorities. Settlement destroyed by the US.
1832 – Argentina attempt to create a penal colony but subsequently agree to leave after being requested to do so by the British.
1833 – Settlement established by the British. In continuous settlement to the present day, despite ten week Argentine invasion in 1982.
It is clear that Argentina have no legitimate claim based on first settlement or first discovery. The only basis of their claim must therefore be on geographic proximity. Applying that logic closer to home, it follows that France would have a legitimate claim to the islands of Ireland and Britain (see how ridiculous this is beginning to sound…..)
The islanders have a right to self-determination and they wish to remain British. Following the 1982 Argentine invasion I can’t see that changing anytime soon.
mattoid and the rest,
trying to make these racists understand an intelligent point is a waste of effort.
Well researched and written. I’m a bit wiser after reading your post.
If the Argentinians made the first verified claim to the islands as you say. does that not legitimise their present-day claim?
The history of it now is largely irrelevant at this stage. Many of the people there have been there for the best part of 200 years, there was no indigenous population. They have right to self determination and wish to remain British. There ends the argument.
@john
I never said that Argentina made the first verified claim – sorry if thats how you interpreted it.
I merely stated the year that Argentina first expressed an interest in the islands, which was long after they had already been settled by both British and French (which also happens to be long before Argentina even existed!)
When settlers left by 1811, each settlement continued to maintain its claim to the islands (as opposed to abandoning their claim) – apologies if this is where my original wording led to confusion.
The argies lost and now they are just acting like kids
Shows how ignorant you are James if you think others backward for remembering their history. In fact it is you who go back further into our history bringing up Diarmait Mac Murchada of 1126 but any one who brings up Irish history since then like the arrival of Cromwell 1649, the Act of Settlement 1656, the battle of the boyne in 1690 are all backward…. Ha you are indeed a joker
Living in Argentina at the moment and the family I’m staying with were a bit shocked when this came on. Seemed split on the whole issue.
You’s can drop the anti-British crap. The people of the Island are British, they all want to be under British rule and the Argentinians have no claim at all, they have never owned them
And should never own them. And before we get into comparisons with Ireland, the people of ireland are Irish and wanted to rule themselves, the Falklands are inhabited by British people and want to be ruled from Britain. AND northern Ireland is a totally different situation before that starts.
actually, I think they consider themselves to be Falklanders and not specifically British. One thing is certain – they are not Argentinian nor have they ever been. Argentinias claim can only be considered a land grab.
How exactly is the north different?
The Malvinas ,Gibraltar , northern Ireland,etc etc…..
Just hand them back lizzie
grow up Roy. You’re just confirming the widely held belief that all republicans are thick.
Pseudo-Jean, your words would carry far more weight if weren’t blindingly obvious that you’re on some sort of crusade yourself. And frankly it’s insensitive and childish of you to apply that woman’s name to your account, not to mention hypocritical and extremely disrespectful.
An Argentinian running away on the falklands. Nothing new there then.
Next up … We’ll have Darren O’Sullivan the Kerry footballer handing back Sam McGuire cause he’s a Cockney
Sam MAGUIRE was born in cork.
All in capital letters I’m sure … Tit
Just showing you how to spell. TIT.
James I hope that’s not a tricolor behind you…….. A country thousands of miles away from an island claiming to own it, where have I heard that before?
And a country hundreds of miles away who never posessed them claiming to own them makes sense to you then?
It is a tricolor but I also happen to know the history of the Falklands, it all goes back to the treaty of utrecht, and by the way I’m not backwards enough to still go on about what the British did hundreds of years ago, sure we invited them over to help us win a war, and king diarmuid awarded the English lords land in return
Irony is that the parent company of the ad-agency who produced it is actually British!
Its really not about who owns the Malvinas/Falklands its about the Oil and Mineral wealth that is in its 200 mile? limit.
The British and the Argentinians already work together on the south sandwich Islands and other Islands in that area.
Las Malvinas are Argentinian, the islanders that live there are a planted population that should be given every assistance to return to the country that they have most allegiance to. As Tommy Byrne of the Wolfe Tones would sing “the Irish still support you Argentina”.
And if they did move the population back to Britain and the Argentinians moved it, would they be any less of a planted population? Especially considering the Argentinians have never had a population on the islands at Amy point in their history.
Geographical distance is no basis for a claim to any territory, and as others have said above, it would seem that proximity is the only card that Argentina can play. They have no right to those islands and this ad is absolutely pathetic.
@Chris J
Read the rest of the thread. The only native population there are seals and seagulls.
Idiot… really please… Malvines my ass.
@Chris Jordan – I suspect that the irony of your post is totally lost on you.
Argentina for the native patagonians alone!
@ jean mcConville
Get a life!!
Racists?????
Ps nice hair style
racism= the prejudice of judging people on their ethnicity or nationality without, or in spite of,evidence.
hairstyle? its not a photo of me!!
Ahhh the joys of wikipedia !!!!!!!!
yes curse those people who are informed and the facts that prove you wrong. I don’t see why you’re sneering at someone doing something you could have easily done for yourself
Which part of it do you think is incorrect Roy?
That’s a pic of u alright !! Ya bigot !!!
you can talk humpty
Agh the joys of Wikipedia !!!