BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE EXILES
BEN WHITE has total confidence London Irish bosses will safeguard the club’s future and claims the prospective new American buyers “can take it to a new level”.
The Scotland scrumhalf spoke emotionally and openly about the “tough week” which almost saw him and his team-mates go on strike over unpaid wages before eventually ending the season on a high.
Off the field, White and co pulled together to ensure current owner Mick Crossan settled the salary dispute which had threatened to cancel their final Premiership clash with Exeter Chiefs.
On the field, Exiles produced a battling display to defeat Chiefs and end their topsy-turvy league campaign in fifth place. And players (Ben Loader, Ollie HassellCollins and Henry Arundell, top) and backroom staff celebrated on the field in a special huddle at the Gtech Community Stadium to show their unity.
Crossan is in protracted talks with an American consortium to finally kill off fears the club could end up following Wasps and Worcester into administration.
But White (above), 24, whose focus now begins to switch to a summer camp with Scotland and the World Cup, claimed: “It’s been a tough week but one which will make us stronger. We hadn’t been paid but people still turned up and did extras.
“The guys didn’t complain, we just laughed about it and moved on. It showed how much it means for us to pull on the shirt and to make sure this club is going in the right direction.
“The owners told us of their hopes and ambitions. Like everything, it takes time. We have to trust them to do the right thing and to get it sorted.
“Mick did an amazing job to get the club back to London and boost it up to where it wants to be, plus getting it through Covid.
“For me, there are only exciting times ahead for London Irish. And I believe the proposed new owners will take the club to another level.
“I’m not in banking and never bought a million-pound company but sometimes mistakes happen.
“We dealt with it together as a group and all is good. We just tried to stay together and make sure the off-field staff were looked after.
“A lot of players are young and on good salaries so it’s not ourselves we worry for.
“It’s more the staff and off-field staff. All credit to them, they worked their backsides off all week. They all turned up and without them this wouldn’t have happened.
“It’s a brilliant club to buy, and we showed today why we should still be here. We’re not just a team which wants to finish sixth, seventh or eighth or just make Europe, we want to push on and win trophies.
“We didn’t quite do it this year, which was probably due to the start of the season, but there is so much growth and the younger ones are getting better and better.”