London Irish centre Johnny Williams makes a welcome return to the starting XV for this Sunday’s Greene King IPA Championship clash with Jersey Reds at the Madejski Stadium (kick-off 2pm).
A Junior World Cup-winner with England Under-20’s in the summer, Williams returns to action following two months out through injury and is one of seven changes as the Exiles eye 10 league wins out of 10.
Williams, who came off the bench just before the break during last weekend’s 35-24 victory at Cornish Pirates, replaces Fergus Mulchrone at inside centre, while Joe Cokanasiga starts on the wing.
Elsewhere in the backline, James Marshall makes way for Tommy Bell, the former Leicester man set to make it a century of points for the season having being locked on 98 since his side’s 41-17 triumph over Yorkshire Carnegie earlier this month. Bell had a stint with Jersey prior to his move to Welford Road in 2014.
In the pack Richard Palframan gets the nod at tight-head, while second-row Jerry Sexton and back-rows Blair Cowan and Senitiki Nayalo get the chance to impress from the start.
Exiles Director of Rugby Nick Kennedy said: “Jersey will be yet another tough test for us on the back of last week’s trip to Penzance, and we will need to be fully focussed on the task in hand.
“Training has been excellent this week and we have had the extra day to prepare for Jersey which is good. It’s important that we utilise our rotation system during what is going to be a relentless campaign, and a series of players have the opportunity to impress this weekend.
“We must continue to approach each game in the same fashion as we’ve done so far this term, and build momentum as we get closer to the business end of the season.”
Tickets are available for the Jersey Reds game by calling 0118 968 1016 or click here.
Hospitality packages are still available for this fixture, starting at just £35 +vat per person. For more information or to buy a package please email [email protected] or call 01932 750 113.
London Irish: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ben Ransom, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Scott Steele, 1 Tom Court, 2 David Paice (c), 3 Richard Palframan, 4 Will Lloyd, 5 Jerry Sexton, 6 Max Northcote-Green, 7 Blair Cowan, 8 Senitiki Nayalo
Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Mike Coman, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Fergus Mulchrone
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