London Irish face Exeter Chiefs in Premiership clash with huge play-off implications

London Irish welcome Exeter Chiefs to the Brentford Community Stadium with both sides aiming to stay in the play-off race.

Following a short stint in the Championship, the Irish have failed to make an impact since their return to the top flight, finishing 10th and ninth respectively in the two previous seasons.

This season did not start positively either, with just one win in the first seven Premiership games for Declan Kidney’s side. However, victory at the Stoop over the Chiefs paired with a comfortable victory over Newcastle Falcons have hauled them into the mix for Champions Cup Rugby and potentially the play-offs.

Exeter have been underwhelming this season, with five league defeats to their name already.

In the reverse fixture between the Irish and the Chiefs, it was in fact London Irish who came out on top to claim their first win of the campaign with an impressive 33-21 triumph at Sandy Park.

The Exiles have made 11 changes from the starting 15 fielded in the Challenge Cup defeat to Saracens, including a long-awaited return for Sean O’Brien, who has not featured since the home defeat to Leicester Tigers back in early October.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs are having to delve deep into their squad having been struck down with injuries and COVID-19. Patrick Schickerling will make his Premiership debut with the young Namibian slotting straight into the front row alongside James Kenny and Jack Innard.

Whilst Exeter have the attacking prowess to blow teams out of the water, many of their clutch victories this season have come in tight, low-scoring games.

In fact, the last four Premiership victories for Rob Baxter’s side have been in games with under 24 points scored and no more than seven points difference. The Chiefs have also been on the wrong end of some narrow results, losing out 15-14 at home to the Newcastle and succumbing to a last-minute Marcus Smith kick in a 14-12 loss at Harlequins.

On the other hand, over the last couple of seasons, Irish have been involved in some free-scoring games, coming out second best in a considerable number of them.

As such, it will be intriguing how either team approach this game, but Exeter’s stout defence will look to nullify any Irish attack. On the contrary, Kidney’s side will look to bombard the Chiefs’ backline from all angles with the attacking talent of Ollie Hassell-Collins and the force of Agustin Creevy.

With the Irish expecting the biggest crowd they have seen at the Brentford Community Stadium, there is sure to be a great atmosphere for a game between two sides desperate for a win.

Victory for London Irish could potentially move them to just a point behind the Chiefs, with a game in hand over their Devon adversary. Meanwhile, if results went the way of Exeter, they could find themselves back in the play-off berths with a win in West London.

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