Mulchrone confident Exiles can finally snap their seven-match losing streak

LONDON Irish defensive linchpin Fergus Mulchrone believes his side possess the resolve and attacking firepower to upset in-form Wasps.

Exiles are rooted to the foot of the Premiership after seven successive defeats but came within an ace of defeating high-flyers Bath last weekend.

Mulchrone insists they can go one better, saying: “We’re much improved; you can feel we’re building and we’re determined to go after Wasps.

“Wasps are probably the best attacking team in the country and what their players can do in small spaces is terrific. If we get into a game of 7s with them we know how electric they can be so it’s important we impose our game plan.”

Irish make just three changes to the starting side that pushed Bath close, with all-action prop Ollie Hoskins, lock Teofilo Paulo and flanker Mike Coman joining the forwards. Their starting backline remains unchanged.

Mulchrone adds: “Defensively we’ve improved, our pack’s going well with scrums and mauls and we believe we’ve got attacking threats. If we’re in the game late on like we were against Bath, you might see us on the right end of the result.”

Meanwhile, Danny Cipriani returns from a knee injury for Wasps as they head to the Madejski in search of a third consecutive league win, having rattled in ten tries in their last two top-flight matches against Northampton and Newcastle.

Utility back Rob Miller says: “We’re back in that mid-table area now and looking to get into the top four again after a few early season losses.

“We tweaked a few things, reduced our error count and have shown that we’re still a pretty good side. We played well against Newcastle last week and some of the tries we scored were outstanding, so we have to back it up.”

Cipriani starts on the bench as Wasps make two changes to their backline, with Joe Simpson rotated in at scrum-half for Dan Robson and Gaby Lovobalavu replacing Kyle Eastmond, who is out after failing to recover from a head knock.

On-loan Nizaam Carr makes his first Premiership start at No.8, replacing Guy Thompson in an otherwise unchanged pack.

Miller last week extended his contract, adding: “It’s nice to get it done. We came close to silverware last season and have been building for a few years. Now it’s about turning semi-finals and finals into trophies.”