Ofisa Treviranus will make his 100th appearance for London Irish in this Saturday’s Greene King IPA Championship clash with Doncaster Knights at Castle Park (kick-off 3pm).
The 33-year-old Samoan back row becomes a centurion less than six years after making his Exiles debut during a 21-17 home victory over Wasps.
Inking a two-year contract extension last summer, the former Connacht man has scored three tries in 16 appearances for Irish this term.
Treviranus is named in a side that has two changes from last weekend’s 82-3 triumph against Rotherham Titans, a result which is a timely boost for the Exiles going into the crucial play-off stages of the competition.
Double World Cup winning All Black Ben Franks starts in the front row alongside Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and skipper David Paice, while Tommy Bell’s inclusion at full-back is a welcome sight for the Exiles faithful.
Closing in on 200 points for Irish in just his first season at the club, Bell scored a try and kicked three conversions as a second half replacement at home to Rotherham.
“Ofisa has been a fantastic servant for London Irish and everyone at the club is delighted that he has reached this milestone,” said Exiles Director of Rugby Nick Kennedy.
“His experience has been vital for us this season and I’m sure he will be itching to mark his 100th outing with a strong performance.”
Irish’s previous meeting with Doncaster came on the opening day of the season, Kennedy’s men recording a 19-0 win thanks to tries from Aseli Tikoirotuma and Tom Fowlie.
Kennedy is well aware of the dangers posed by Clive Griffiths’ Knights side, who were narrowly beaten by Bristol in last season’s Championship Play-off Final.
“Doncaster will be a very stern test for us and they will certainly be fired-up this weekend,” said Kennedy.
“Clive has got his team very well organised and they like to play an expansive game, so it’s a game that we must approach with the right mentality.”
London Irish: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 12 Theo Brophy Clews, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, 2 David Paice (c), 3 Ben Franks, 4 Sebastian De Chaves, 5 Jebb Sinclair, 6 Mike Coman, 7 Blair Cowan, 8 Ofisa Treviranus
Replacements: 16 Dave Porecki, 17 Tom Court, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Will Lloyd, 20 Conor Gilsenan, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Topsy Ojo
Tickets for the London Irish v Doncaster Knights / Ealing Trailfinders Play-off Semi-final at 1.15pm on Saturday 6 May are on sale from www.lidirect.co.uk or by calling 0118 968 1016.
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