Flying Irish will be boost for England says Davis
LONDON Irish are once again becoming a “fantastic vehicle” for young backthree flyers to push their case for England selection, says assistant coach Brad Davis.
With Ben Loader’s electrifying display against Leicester last weekend earning plaudits in front of watching Red Rose boss Eddie Jones, the winger is among a quartet of 20 and 21-year-olds ready to take the Premiership by storm in a bid for Test recognition.
England’s back-three options are plentiful but Irish have a long history of producing wing-heeled stars and Davis believes Loader (21), Ollie HassellCollins (20), Tom Parton (21) and Matt Williams (21) have everything it takes to maintain that grand tradition. Davis told The Rugby
Paper: “We’ve got some great young wingers and full-backs and London Irish as a club has produced fantastic back-three players over a number of years.
“Anthony Watson and Joe Cokanasiga are two that obviously left, but with Ben, Ollie, Tom and Matt there’s a lot of youth in their now, and with Waisake Naholo coming in to strengthen our stocks in that department, all these guys are going to benefit.
“There’ll be parts of their game they need to keep improving, but as long as they stay hungry to learn the game, their natural talent will continue to help them.
“England were outstanding at the World Cup but every coach hits the reset button at some stage, especially with four-year cycles, and Eddie’s a meticulous planner. It’s good to be a back-three player at London Irish with the way we’re trying to play the game and the better we play, the more these guys will get noticed.
“This club’s tracking in a really positive direction at the moment and this could be a fantastic journey for those players to be part of.”
Last week’s stunning 36-11 victory over Leicester provided further evidence that promoted Irish are intent on doing more than making up the numbers.
Against Tigers, the impact of Naholo and experienced fellow debutant Nick Phipps was instantaneous, and with Wallabies lock Adam Coleman and Tongan powerhouse Steve Mafi close to being unleashed, Davis believes the Exiles will only improve.
He added: “Naholo’s been great in terms of offering a voice to our younger players and he’ll fit in more seamlessly with more training weeks under his belt.
“Nick came off the bench and provided speed around the base and the mission both those guys are on is to make a positive impact. They’ve come to London Irish because there’s a projection of where the club is heading and they want to be part of it.
“Mafi was in training last week and Coleman has just landed, so we’ll give them a couple of weeks to settle in.
“They’ll both add lots of quality to the depth we already have and their presence will be huge.
“Our training numbers will increase, as will the quality of training, and whenever you add players of that calibre to your roster, you can only improve.”