Six London Irish players have been named in the England Senior and Saxons squads announced by the Rugby Football Union this morning.
Nick Kennedy, Topsy Ojo, David Paice and Peter Richards are included in the England Senior squad for the tour to New Zealand. Steffon Armitage and Paul Hodgson are in the England Saxons squad for the Churchill Cup tournament in Canada and the United States.
The selection of three uncapped players - Kennedy, Ojo and Paice, for the senior squad is unprecedented in a London Irish context and is further evidence of the club’s growing role as a source of players for this country’s national teams and of its ambition to compete in the top level in this country and Europe.
Steffon Armitage’s inclusion in the Saxons squad reflects his outstanding performances for the club over the past season. The club is also in the unique position of providing two capped scrum-halves to the squads in Peter Richards and Paul Hodgson.
Commenting on the players’ selection, London Irish Coach Toby Booth said: “I’m pleased on two levels. First of all for the club as the selection of so many players reflects our ambition and is fantastic recognition of the efforts of our squad over the season. Second, on a personal level I’ve worked with four of the players since they joined our Academy and it has been very rewarding to take them through to the stage where they are on the verge of winning international caps.
“We believe that players like James Buckland, Declan Danaher, James Hudson and Kieran Roche, who have previously achieved representative honours, will be encouraged by the selection of their colleagues and will compete even harder to secure places in future squads,” added Booth.
Delon Armitage and Shane Geraghty were not considered for either squad because of injury.