David Paice eyes Worcester clash

Record breaker David Paice is determined for his side to bounce back with victory over Worcester Warriors at the Madejski Stadium this Sunday (kick-off 1pm).

The Exiles hooker became London Irish’s most capped player of all time at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday by making his 283^rd appearance, surpassing the previous record set by Topsy Ojo back in October.

Since making his debut more than 13 years ago, the one club man has given his all for Irish campaign after campaign.

While acknowledging the task in hand following Saturday’s defeat to Northampton, Paice is keen for the Exiles to keep fighting, a key ingredient of what the badge encapsulates.

“There’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves and giving up,” said Paice.

“We’ve got to get back into training, get ourselves fully prepared for the Worcester game and take each game as it comes.

“Yes, we have a huge hill to climb, but we’ll be putting everything we can into the Worcester game.”

In typically humble fashion, Paice brushed off talk of his record post-match, saying: “It was never about my record in the build-up to the game. It was about the team and getting the win that we needed.

“I was very proud of our first half performance going into half-time 14-3 up, but the first 10 minutes of the second half was pretty embarrassing.

“Northampton came out for the second half on the front foot and executed their attacks very well. We missed tackles and conceded a succession of penalties to give them some momentum and you can’t afford to do that at this level.”

Tickets for the London Irish v Worcester Warriors game on Sunday 25 February (kick-off 1pm) are available from £3 for under 13s and £23 for adults by calling the Ticket Office on 0118 968 1016 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to noon) or online at www.lidirect.co.uk.