Irish remain defiant despite 16pt gap
ENGLAND midfield prospect Johnny Williams returns as London Irish aim to prolong their battle against relegation with victory over their nearest rivals.
Having been plagued by knee and hamstring injuries, Williams, 21, makes only his fifth league appearance of the season as Irish look to snap a run of 14 Premiership defeats.
Backs coach Paul Hodgson said: “It’s great to have Johnny back and although it might surprise people given where we are, our attitude is very positive.
“Worcester are playing some good rugby and have two big scalps behind them, but we’re highly competitive and believe we can give our fans the win they deserve.
“It really hurts to be bottom, especially with everything you put into it, but some of our attacking play against Northampton last week was excellent and we’ve pushed teams like Leicester, Bath, Wasps, Newcastle and Sale really hard at home.”
Williams partners fellow academy product Tom Fowlie in an otherwise unchanged back-line, which contains considerable firepower in the shape of a back three containing Joe Cokanasiga, Alex Lewington and James Marshall.
The only other amendment to the starting XV that pushed Northampton close sees Conor Gilsenen replace Max Northcote-Green at No.7.
Irish are 16 points adrift of safety, but, having lost their last five home league games by a combined tally of just 18 points, Hodgson said: “That shows how fine the margins have been in recent games and we know we’ve got wins in us.
“We’ve got to prove it but each game is a chance to showcase the hard work everyone is putting in behind the scenes. We know we’re in a position people will think it’s impossible to recover from, but that’s not distracting us from the job.
“We respect Worcester, but there’s plenty to be confident about going into this game in terms of our performances.”
Fresh from an impressive pair of victories over top four outfits Exeter and Gloucester, Worcester are close to full strength following the inclusion of fit-again South Africa scrum-half Francois Hougaard and wing Josh Adams, released by Wales.
Donncha O’Callaghan and Darren Barry continue their formidable second row partnership while the only change in the pack sees powerhouse Samoan Alafoti Faosiliva, fresh from extending his contract, replace Dave Denton at blindside.
Long-serving Warriors No.9 Jonny Arr said: “The last two weeks have been brilliant and, after beating Exeter and Gloucester, we’ll go to Irish in good spirits.
“We’ve been in Irish’s position before and we know how dangerous a team can be when they’re fighting for their lives. However, if we can turn two wins into three, and then four, our league position will start to look very different.”