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Irish are primed for Perpignan challenge Heineken
Cup
London Irish v Perpignan, Sunday 3pm, The Madejski Stadium
London Irish showed the strength of their panel ahead of this weekend’s
clash with Perpignan by demolishing a poor Worcester outfit in the Powergen
Cup at the weekend.
The Exiles recorded seven tries in their 48-27 victory in a match where
they rested several players.
The Exiles will be hoping for a big performance from their former Munster
player Eoghan Hickey, who has made a promising start to his first season
with London Irish.
A former Ireland ‘A’ international, Hickey believes the game
with Perpignan will be the highlight of his career with the Exiles to
date.
Speaking to The Irish Post he said: “Games like this are the reason
you play rugby. Irish fans will be familiar with Perpignan — they’ve
had some famous battles with Munster and knocked Leinster out a few years
ago. They are very much the Munster of French rugby, with a lot of power
in the pack.”
Dublin-born Hickey has played for both Leinster and Munster, as well as
for Ireland at under-21 and ‘A’ levels.
He joined London Irish this season, saying: “Playing at out-half,
opportunities are fairly limited in Ireland, with Contepomi at Leinster
and O’Gara at Munster. They are both very established top-class
performers, so I came to London Irish. It’s a club with a great
tradition.”
And despite the competition for places, Hickey’s target remains
to play at the top level for Ireland.
“I came here to put myself in the shop window for the national team,”
he said. “People say that if you are playing outside Ireland you
have much less chance of getting the call but I don’t really buy
into that.
“You are less in the shop window I suppose but I like to think that
if you are good enough you will get picked and I hope that if I keep working
hard I will get the call.”
Hickey believes that the victory over Worcester sets his side up nicely
for the match with Perpignan.
“It’s important to get a winning mentality into a club and
big victories do that, so I don’t see why we can’t keep that
up this weekend.” |
