There are three changes to the starting line-up of the team that played Rotherham Titans last Sunday.  Barry Everitt starts at fly half in place of Mark Mapletoft who suffered an ankle injury in Sunday's match; Declan Danaher and Rob Hoadley take over at blindside flanker and inside centre respectively.

Commenting on the match, Head Coach, Gary Gold said: "The Sharks are re-discovering last season's good form with three wins out of four in their recent matches.  Both their backs and forwards are scoring tries routinely so that is a concern for our defence.  While our own playing record is similar, we will have to be at our best to come away with any result from Edgeley Park."

DEVELOPMENT XV

London Irish has announced the following team for second team away match against Oxford University on Monday 3rd November, kick-off at 7.30pm at Iffley Park, Oxford.

Team:
1. Doug Wheatley
2. David Paice
3. Rhys Buckler
4. Gary Johnson
5. Nick Kennedy
6. Richard Thorpe
7. Michael Haslett (Capt)
8. Paul Gustard
9. Kevin Brennan
10. Ross Laidlaw
11. Delon Armitage
12. Matt Cannon
13. Tom Luke
14. Topsy Ojo
15. Ed Thrower

Replacements:
16. Adam Halsey
17. James Greenwood
18. Jason Luff
19. Paddy Gill
20. Kevin Barrett
21. John Lake
22. Shadow
23. Pierre Durant
24. Nick Greenstock

POWERGEN CUP - ROUND 6
Gloucester vs. London Irish
Saturday 15th November 2003 - KO 14:45

Due to the following statement by Network Rail it is recommended that supporters who are travelling to this match use the LISC coach transport arranged by Tony Byrne. See details at the bottom.

"Vital engineering work will continue to be carried out by Network Rail during November. First Great Western is working closely with Network Rail to ensure that disruption to services is kept to a minimum and customers are informed of all service changes. Customers are advised to check their journey details before travelling by visiting www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk or calling National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950 or see BBC Ceefax page 432. First Great Western apologises to customers for any inconvenience while this essential work is carried out. Of particular significance is the following:

Route: At Gloucester
Dates: Continuously between Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th November 2003
Alternative arrangements:
There will be NO services to Gloucester. Replacement road transport will operate between Cheltenham and Gloucester."

For details of the LISC travel & ticket arrangements visit the website.

MERCHANDISE NEWS

Just in case you haven't been to the Megastore recently, we are pleased to tell you that all sizes are now back in stock, and includes two new garments for women from Canterbury of New Zealand - a navy blue fitted cap sleeve polo and a white fitted t-shirt, both of which feature an embroidered London Irish badge.  They are priced at £20 and £15 respectively and are available in sizes 8-18.  Click here to view.

POINTS MEANS PINTS COMPETITION 

Thanks to all those who entered the Rotherham Match Competition. We had hundreds of entries but unfortunately nobody predicted the correct aggregate score of 73 points.

Many of you predicted close to this, but congratulations goes to James Fox of Abingdon, whose name was pulled out of a hat.

James wins 73 pints of Guinness and Guinness merchandise.

Due to the success of this competition, Guinness have decided to run it again for a future match, so keep checking the website. 

BEEFY'S BLARNEY

For the latest edition of Beefy's Blarney click here.

BLARNEY ARCHIVE

As mentioned previously, there are still issues with sending the Blarney to AOL or Hotmail accounts, which is currently being looked in to.  However, thanks to Paul Warrender you can now access an archive of The Blarney through the following link - http://www.london-irish-rugby.com/blarney.htm

THE BLARNEY

Over 6,100 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.