PLAYER NEWS

Good luck to Michael Horak who is starting for England against USA this Saturday with Neal Hatley on the bench.

STEWARDING AT THE OVAL CRICKET GROUND

Contrary to the report in the sports section of today's issue (19th June) of The Daily Telegraph, NO London Irish players will be on crowd stewarding duty at the Oval Cricket Ground tomorrow or on any other day.

FIXTURE LIST AMENDMENTS

The 2003 / 2004 London Irish fixture list has temporarily been taken down from the website, as a number of changes to the Premiership fixtures are expected to be made by Premier Rugby. As soon as the amended fixture list is confirmed the dates will be posted on the website again.

NEW LONDON IRISH PLAYING KIT - UPDATE

London Irish and Canterbury are pleased to confirm that work on the production of the new playing kit is proceeding apace and that it will be ready well in advance of the start of the new season.

Preparations are in hand for a formal launch event to be held in early August. Details will be announced shortly.

SEASON TICKET 2003/2004

The prices for the Season Tickets can be found by clicking on the following link - Season Tickets 03-04

Please note that if you are renewing you must keep hold of your smart card as this will be validated.  (Replacement cards will cost £10).

The deadline for renewals is 30th June.  If you have not renewed your seat by this date it will then be released for general sale.

How to purchase a Season Ticket for Season 2003/2004:

By Application Form:  Click on the following link to download an application form - Season Tickets 03-04

By Telephone: Call the Ticket Hotline, between 8am-9pm, on 0118 968 1000.

In Person: Simply visit the Ticket Office at the Madejski Stadium, Monday to Friday 9am-5.30pm, Saturdays/Non-Match 9am-4pm or Post Match on Match days.

SPONSORSHIP & HOSPITALITY 2003/2004

Packages, ranging from Seasonal Boxes to Individual Hospitality, are available for next season. 

To get details please e-mail Abigail Findlay (abigail.findlay@london-irish.com) or Kelly Adey (kelly.adey@london-irish.com)

DIGGER ADDS TO THE COLOUR AT THE BERKSHIRE SCHOOLS TAG FESTIVAL

Yesterday afternoon saw over thirty schools from around Berkshire meet at Reading Rugby Club to celebrate the 2003 Under 21 Rugby World Cup by participating in the 'Berkshire Schools World Cup Tag Tournament'.

The festival was kicked-off with over three hundred children representing a designated country and wearing their national colours in an opening parade. After the parade the games began, with superb skills being displayed throughout the afternoon. Adding to the colour and spirit of the day, our award winning mascot Digger descended onto the pitch, much to the delight of the children, teachers and parents in attendance. After over sixty matches of Tag rugby all participants gathered for a special presentation, which gave children an opportunity to meet squad members of the Welsh Under 21 team, who are using Reading Rugby Club as their training base for the duration of the tournament.

Berkshire RDO, Gavin Williams comments, "It is great to see so many of the pupils putting so much effort into their costumes. Many of the schools adopted the costume making exercise as a school project to find out more of their representative country, which shows great imagination!"

Andy Keighley Reading RFC's Youth Development Officer added, "It was great to see so many children playing at the one venue and having such a great time. It was great to see the progression that the children have made after the increased amount of coaching that they have received over the last couple of years. Tag rugby in the Berkshire area is developing in leaps and bounds." 

Reading Rugby Club is a 'Partner Club' of London Irish and run successful junior and senior sections. If you would like to find out more information about joining you can contact Andrew Keighley on 0118 969 6592, e-mail ydo@readingrfc.co.uk or visit the website at www.readingrfc.co.uk

'TALES FROM THE CRAIC'
Supplied by Dave Parry (Abingdon)

It was Monday Morning in the mortuary and the mortician was showing his new apprentice the 3 male bodies that had arrived over the weekend.  The apprentice noticed that all 3 had smiles on their faces and asked the coroner's officer, who knew the histories of the cases, if he knew why this was. 

"Well", said the coroner's officer pointing at the first body, "this chap's an Englishman.  He was making love to his wife when he died.  Hence the smile on his face."  They moved on to the next body.  "This chap's a Scotsman.  He bought a Lottery Ticket and won £2000.  Bought 6 bottles of Scotch which he drank and died of liver failure.  That's why he's got a smile on his face."  He moved on to the last body and said, "This chap's an Irishman.  He was struck by lightning."  The apprentice asked,  "So why has he got a smile on his face?"  The coroners officer replied, "He thought he was having his photo taken!"

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.