Exiles aim to reward support

LONDON IRISH v SARACENS AVIVA PREMIERSHIP MADEJSKI STADIUM SUNDAY, 3PM

DAVID PAICE says London Irish want to reward their supporters with a show in the final home game of the season this weekend.

The outlook appears bleak for the Exiles, nine points adrift at the foot of the table with just 10 points left to play for.

But with second-bottom Worcester Warriors in action on Saturday, Irish could be officially relegated before they take to the field against Saracens on Sunday.

So Paice, who this week announced he will retire from rugby at the end of the season, is focussed on producing a good performance for the fans rather than worrying about the league standings.

“The table doesn’t look good for us,” Paice told The Wokingham Paper.

“But it’s our last home game and there are different people leaving, we won’t have the same side next year which is natural in any rugby club.

“Not just for me, but for the rest of the guys that are leaving, I think it’s important for them to give a good showing for their last game with London Irish and thank London Irish for everything they’ve done.

“But also the fans for supporting us through this difficult season and just for ourselves really.”

He added: “We haven’t played to our ability throughout the season, especially in the first half of the season.

“I think we’re showing now that we are good enough to be this level, it’s just the way the first six months went has probably been the killer for us.

“So it’s probably as much to prove for ourselves that we do belong in this league and getting a result against one of the best teams in Europe would go a long way to doing that.

“If the table falls our way, it’s something we can’t control but if we can get it down to the last week, anything can happen.”

A brilliant win over Harlequins earlier this month gave the Exiles hope of an unlikely survival, only for a resounding 45-5 defeat against Exeter Chiefs at the Mad Stad last time out to leave them back on the brink.

And Paice admits Irish struggled to adapt to life in the Premiership following promotion back in May.

“We had a great win on the opening day but I think we got caught a little bit in the difference between the Premiership and the Championship,” he said.

“I don’t think we were quick enough in picking up those differences.

“That then culminated in a loss of confidence as well.

“Just as winning becomes a habit, I think losing becomes a habit.

“We lost a lot of close games at home that we should’ve won and I think if we did win a couple of those games, I think we’d be looking very different.

“Confidence plays a huge part in rugby.

“We had a few different injuries at different stages to key players as well but at the end of the day, we haven’t been good enough.”

He added: “It’s been a disappointing season in some aspects but I’m proud of how the guys have stuck together, especially these last three or four months we’ve shown we belong at this level of competition.

“I know I won’t be there but if we do go down to the Championship, hopefully a lot of the guys stay with London Irish and we can get straight back up and we can build from there.”

For more from Paice, explaining his decision to retire, see page 46.