London Irish

Tagicakibau to coach London Irish in JP 7s final

By Alan Manicom
August 02, 2012

Sailosi Tagicakibau will be hoping to guide London Irish to JP Premiership 7s glory from the bench tonight.

Exiles’ Samoan flier will not be risked on the pitch after picking up a slight knock in the qualifying tournament at The Stoop three weeks ago.

But Tagicakibau will be coaching London Irish’s 12-man squad in the six-team final at Bath’s recreation ground.

He said: “Sevens was a game I first started playing back in New Zealand. It got me interested in rugby.

“If things go well and we work hard enough we have a very good chance of winning the competition.”

Irish have made five changes to the squad that finished second in their qualifying pool, bringing in Jonathan Joseph, Joe Ansbro, Jamie Gibson, Jack Moates, Marland Yarde and Shaun Malton for Shane Geraghty, Tomas O’Leary, Chris Hala’Ufia, Michael Worrincy, Steve Shingler and Tagicakibau.

But Tagicakibau’s absence is only precautionary.

He said: “I’m feeling fit and refreshed and I’m hoping to have a good year this year and play a big part with the team.”

London Irish: 1 Alex Gray, 2 Joe Ansbro, 3 Jonathan Joseph, 4 Tom Homer, 5 Topsy Ojo, 6 Marland Yarde, 7 Gerard Ellis, 8 Darren Allinson, 9 Jamie Gibson, 10 Jack Moates, 11 Conor Gaston, 12 Shaun Malton.

Pool A - 7.00: Saracens v Sale,

Pool B - 7.25: London Irish v London Welsh.

Pool A - 7.50: Sale v Gloucester.

Pool B - 8.15: London Welsh v Bath.

Pool A - 8.40: Saracens v Gloucester.

Pool B - 9.05: London Irish v Bath.

Final - 9.40.

Amlin Challenge Cup fixtures - Oct 13: Bordeaux-Begles v London Irish (9pm).

Oct 20: London Irish v Mont-de-Marsan (3pm).

Dec 8: London Irish v Gloucester (3pm).

Dec 15: Gloucester v London Irish (3pm).

Jan 10/11/12/13: Mont-de-Marsan v London Irish.