Danaher to join 250 Club against Quins

Declan Danaher will make his 250th appearance for London Irish this Sunday when he leads London Irish out against Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership match at Madejski Stadium (kick-off 2.15pm).

Declan will Captain the side from the back row alongside Jamie Gibson and Chris Hala’ufia. The Exiles record try scorer, Topsy Ojo, will start in the back three along with Sailosi Tagicakibau and Anthony Watson, who will start a Premiership match for the first time.

London Irish Director of Rugby Brian Smith said: “Sunday will mark a great mile-stone for one of London Irish’s finest warriors when Declan Danaher pulls on the London Irish jersey for the 250th time. It’s an incredible feat of endurance and courage. It will be a tough afternoon for Dec and the boys; we can expect a thorough examination in all departments as Harlequins have a strong pack and some extremely dangerous backline players. Whilst we have a healthy respect for our opponents, we have faith in each other and the belief that we can beat any team in this league.”

London Irish team to face Harlequins:

15. Anthony Watson; 14. Topsy Ojo*; 13. Jonathan Joseph*; 12. Guy Armitage; 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 10. Ian Humphreys; 9. Tomás O’Leary*; 1. Max Lahiff; 2. David Paice*; 3. Halani Aulika*; 4. Bryn Evans*; 5. Matt Garvey; 6. Declan Danaher (Captain); 7. Jamie Gibson; 8. Chris Hala’ufia*

Replacements: 16. Scott Lawson*; 17. Cai Griffiths; 18. Leo Halavatau; 19. Kieran Low; 20. Ofisa Treviranus*; 21. Alex Gray; 22. Steven Shingler; 23. Darren Allinson

*Denotes Internationals

Players missing through Injury:

Joe Ansbro, Alex Corbisiero, Jon Fisher, Shane Geraghty, George Skivington, Tom Homer, David Sisi, Tom Smallbone, James Sandford