Jennings: Living on the edge helps Exiles succeed
RORY Jennings insists London Irish will continue to “live on the edge” in order to maintain their strong push for European and domestic honours.
The fly-half also expects the Exiles will have their discipline tested again today against a Saracens side pumped up and seeking to avenge a couple of painful body blows dished out by the men in green.
Head coach Les Kiss admitted after the side fought back to beat Edinburgh
last weekend that Irish are “getting plenty of experience playing 14 man rugby”.
Hooker Agustin Creevy’s red card failed to stop them making it two Challenge Cup wins from three and progress to the last 16.
Having stunned Sarries in the Premiership Cup, Irish also pulled off a miraculous draw at Sarries in the league when they had to play for an hour a man short following Adam Coleman’s dismissal but managed to overcome a 26point deficit in the final quarter of the game.
Creevy, below, is banned for three matches but Jennings, 26, does not feel Irish need to be overly concerned about their indiscipline.
He says: “Naturally we will be trying to keep 15 men on the field at all times, especially against Sarries. We don’t want to have to repeat what we did there before Christmas. That was a special result because it showed just how much we stick together and fight for each other. And, of course, we need to replicate some of those aspects and attributes again.
“You never want to have someone sent off, but it’s that fine line between stepping up to the line and then teetering over the edge. Red and yellow cards don’t really help but, at the same time, you don’t want to pull people back because that’s how the game should be played.
“It is down to the individual to make the right decision. More often than not we know where the line is.”
Jennings also expects a pumped up Sarries team to come at the Irish strongly as
Mark
McCall’s side attempt to keep their European chances alive. Jennings was an early replacement for injured Paddy Jackson and kicked three conversions in that remarkable draw in November, and he insists: “Saracens will be looking at those two games played against us this season and probably feel they owe us one. So I expect they will be coming at us all guns blazing because they need to win both their remaining games to have a chance of progressing.
“But even though we have qualified for the last 16 already it is still a huge game for us. We want to be ranked as high as possible going into it the next stage.
“We will go there with a positive attitude. We’ve already proved we can go there and get a decent result.”
Jennings is thriving in his new London environment having returned from France where he was playing for Clermont Auvergne during the summer.
He says: “It couldn’t have gone better. It’s definitely a different
experience to France but I am it. Being back in London there are a lot of my old school friends living
here.”