There is one change to the starting line-up of the team that played Leicester last Saturday.  Naka Drotske returns at hooker having recovered from injury, Adrian Flavin drops to the bench.

Commenting on Saturday's match, Conor O'Shea, said, "This season's Premiership is the most competitive I can remember.  So tight is it that we could face the dreaded drop or we could be in the Wildcard play-offs for a place in next season's Heineken Cup.  All we care about is getting the result we need on Saturday."

Unavailable for selection through injury are: Justin Bishop (ankle), Kevin Burke (knee), Nick Burrows (knee), James Cockle (finger), Glenn Delaney (ankle), Darren Edwards (ribs), Paul Gustard (torn bicep), Richard Kirke (shoulder) and Brendan Venter (knee).

Mark Mapletoft needs just seven more points for 1000 in his career in the English top division - he has tallied 86 points for Rugby, 836 for Gloucester, 25 for Saracens, 13 for Harlequins, and 33 for London Irish in the top flight.

Congratulations to Kieron Dawson and Barry Everitt who have been announced in the 47-strong Ireland training squad ahead of the pre-World Cup tour to Australia.

LONDON IRISH vs BRISTOL SHOGUNS

Tickets are still available via the Ticket Hotline on 0118 968 1000 or book online and save £5 per adult ticket.  Tickets will not be posted but will be available for collection from the Ticket Office at the Stadium on Saturday from 10am.

PLEASE NOTE: To accomodate both London Irish and Reading FC fans this Saturday (10th May) the Megastore will be open from 9am to 5.30pm.

London Irish 31 Worcester 18

London Irish Under 19s won the National Under 19 Cup at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton on Monday.

The Exiles started slowly but once they hit their stride they ran in five tries to leave Worcester struggling.

Congratulations to all members of the Under 19 squad and to Academy Manager, Corin Palmer and his assistant, Toby Booth on bringing London Irish its second national trophy in successive years.

PLACES STILL AVAILABLE AT THE PLAYERS' AWARDS DINNER

We are pleased to confirm that this years Players' Awards Dinner, an event not to be missed, will be held at the Madejski Stadium on Friday 23rd May 2003.

The evening will include a drinks reception from 7pm, a four course dinner with wine, presentation of awards, guest speaker and a live band till 1am.

Tickets are £115 per person inc. VAT
Tables for ten people are £1,150 inc. VAT
which can include the company of a player and their partner if you wish.

Places are limited so please book now to avoid disappointment.  To book or get further details please contact Kelly on 0118 987 9721 or e-mail kelly.adey@london-irish.org

For the Awards Dinner evening, The Millennium Madejski Hotel is offering a discounted rate of £60 per room including breakfast. If you wish to book please contact reservations on 0118 925 3500 quoting: London Irish Awards Dinner.

LISC PRE-MATCH PARTY

The LISC are holding a pre-match party on Saturday in the car park from 1.00pm.  All are welcome to join  fellow like minded souls to build up the party mood for this vitally important game.  LISC membership is also available on the day to those who have not yet signed up (membership now lasts to end of season 2003-2004 and is still only £5.00!!).

CHRIS KAYS MEMORIAL GAMES

Tragically last year, Chris Kays, a member of the Reading based Abbey Rugby Club, was a victim of the Bali bombing while on a rugby tour. 

Abbey RFC is staging a one off memorial game of rugby on the 11th May to honour his memory and his contribution to the spirit of the game in so many countries. 

Bars open at 12 noon and the highlight of the day is a match between an Abbey President's XV and an International Select XV.

All proceeds will go to children's charities including Care 4 Kids, Thailand; Future Hope, India; and the Wooden Spoon Society, UK.

Venue - Reading Abbey RFC, Rosehill, Emmer Green, Reading, RG4 8XA

Entrance is £5 for adults, children under 16 free.

REDINGENSIANS RFC - LONDON IRISH PARTNER CLUB

Redingensians Rugby Club Minis Section has just completed another successful season, both on and off the pitch.  The tournament results for all age groups have been excellent, with the Under 11s leading the way.  This age group went through 2002 undefeated in tournaments, and follwed this up by repeating last season's win at the prestigious Havant Festival in April. 
The Wokingham Unitary's Tag Rugby tournament was organised and hosted by the club.  In addition, during June, Redingensians is hosting the Wokingham Emerging Schools Tag Tournament that is organised London Irish.

The activities with local schools are part of an Active Sports programme that Redingensians is delivering in partnership with Wokingham Unitary and the Berkshire Sports Partnership.  The club is now used by the RFU as a model of good practice for community rugby.  Off the field, the club is working towards the RFU Seal of Approval and should become the first club in the area to receive this award in September.

TALES FROM THE CRAIC

London Irish would like to invite all supporters to supply 'The Blarney' with some interesting stories
or jokes to be included in the weekly newsletter. Please make sure that the jokes or
stories are clean enough for us to publish.  We will also place the best story or joke of the week on the London Irish website.  This week's addition is from Yvonne Farrell.

A man had just bought a new Mercedes CLK and was driving along the motorway at 100mph.  He saw a police car chasing after him, so he increased the speed and carried on down the motorway. Eventually, he gave in and let the police car catch up with him to charge him.
The policeman got out of the car, and said to the man: "I am going off duty on 5 minutes and cannot really be bothered with the paperwork you would cause me, so, if you can think up a valid excuse as to your speeding that I have not heard before, I will let you off this time."
The man thought about this for a minute, and replied:
"My wife left me for a police man the other week and I thought that was you returning her."
The policeman said "Have a nice day!"

THE BLARNEY

Over 4,900 people have currently subscribed to the Blarney; do you forward this to your mates? Or do you print it out and pass it around? Well, why not provide us with their e-mail address so that they can receive their own personal copy. E-mail Jon Salinger (jon.salinger@london-irish.com) with e-mail addresses. Let us try and spread the word of London Irish to a much greater audience.