London Irish give Rotherham full respect

London Irish will treat Powergen Cup quarter-final opponents Rotherham with the same respect as they afforded French aristocrats Toulouse last weekend.

That is the message from Irish rugby director Conor O’Shea, as they prepare for their Madejski Stadium clash with National League One title challengers Rotherham on Sunday.

“Rotherham are tough, tough opposition,” is O’Shea’s verdict on the side controversially denied promotion to the Zurich Premiership last summer because their set-up did not fulfil the criteria for top-flight rugby.

Whatever the ramifications of that decision, and the current independent inquiry into far-reaching allegations that Premiership clubs were prepared to financially reward the Rotherham club to reject promotion, the Yorkshire side’s players have no doubt they are top division material.

They have won 34 successive matches since their last defeat in December 2001, and Rotherham are relishing the chance to prove it again after Premiership side Bristol Shoguns were unable to prevent them going all the way through 2002 victorious, succumbing 24-19 on their home ground, and O’Shea is well aware that danger lurks.

“They are a very good side. Rotherham are unbeaten since God knows when, and they are well-drilled and well-oiled, and everything just blasts off,” he added.

“They are a really, really strong rugby side – physical up front with some great backs.

“If we come out and play to our best, then we will beat them, but we need to play 100% to our best. We will prepare properly for them.

“We have got out videos and we’ve got our preparation, and we will prepare for them like we do every other game. There will be no underestimating what we are facing. It will get full metal jacket.”

O’Shea, recently appointed managing director at London Irish in addition to his role as director of rugby, is particularly anxious that his team do not rest on their laurels after beating Toulouse 32-29 to hand the French side and tournament favourites their first defeat in six Heineken Cup group matches this season.

Victory was not enough to take Irish, who won their three home matches but were beaten three times away – losing matches they should have won at Newport and Edinburgh – into the quarter-finals, and that is another reason not to come unstuck against Rotherham.

The former Ireland star, having seen Irish sample European rugby with their first foray into the Heineken Cup, is desperate for another taste next season, and he sees the Powergen Cup as one of the routes back into the competition.

“We’ll do everything we can to get back into it, but there’s a long way to go,” he said.

“Whether it’s the cup, the play-offs, the league, all we can do is keep playing until the end of the season and see what happens, but all we care about now is Rotherham.

“If we don’t, if we think because we have had a good win against a good Toulouse side, then we are coming straight off the rails, but we are not going ahead with anything but 100% commitment.”

Being drawn at home did not help Bristol, but O’Shea readily acknowledges the momentum currently being provided by the vibrant support for his side at Reading’s Madejski Stadium.

A crowd of 9,297 watched the Toulouse game, even though Irish went into it knowing that their hopes of emerging from their group had already been extinguished.

“A crowd like that was tremendous,” added O’Shea.

“I think that Toulouse are a great draw, but the crowds we are getting at Reading are phenomenal, and we need that same crowd to come out again this weekend because it makes the whole atmosphere of this place and drags the team up another notch.

“Every week they are coming out – we can go places.”