London Irish add three to their Senior Academy

London Irish have welcomed three new players into the Senior Academy after the trio signed new contacts with the club.

Rory Morgan, Theo Smerdon and Marcus Rhodes have all agreed to join up with the Senior Academy with immediate effect.

Scrum-half Rory Morgan was a part of the London Irish U18 side that shared the U18s League trophy with Leicester Tigers back in February.

Marcus Rhodes, like Morgan, played a big part in the U18s route to the final thanks to his ball-carrying from number 8. Morgan and Rhodes were also selected for the England U18s squad, before the cancelation due to Covid-19.

Theo Smerdon is a fly-half and has joined the club from Yorkshire Carnegie having been a part of the Leeds-based club’s academy system.

“We are delighted to welcome the three young lads into our Senior Academy programme” said Patrick O’Grady, Academy Manager.

“Both Rory and Marcus know the environment well and we are excited to see how they develop in the Senior Academy. Theo impressed us whilst at Yorkshire and has settled into things well here at Hazelwood. We look forward to seeing how he progresses this season.”