Gray believes London Irish can batter Blues
Sportsdesk • Published 13 Jan 2012 10:00
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LONDON Irish forward Alex Gray is refusing to give up on qualification for the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup.
Exiles must beat Cardiff Blues at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday (3.40pm) then win in Edinburgh a week later in their final Pool Two match to stand any chance of going through to the quarter finals.
The fact Irish are still in with a chance - however slim - seemed almost unthinkable following defeats in three of their opening four European matches.
They lost their first two at home to Edinburgh then away to Cardiff Blues. And while Toby Booth's men beat Racing Metro in Paris, they suffered a surprise defeat in the return fixture at the Madejski Stadium.
As a result, Irish are third in the table, five points behind leaders Blues and second-placed Edinburgh and they will need to overhaul at least one of them to make it through.
But for now the only thing in Gray's mind is defeating Cardiff and their star-studded team this weekend.
Speaking exclusively to the News, he said: "We can't think any further ahead than Saturday. The only thing in our mind is to put on a performance and get that win against Cardiff.
"If we do beat them then we will look at the next game. But we can't get ahead of ourselves, the most important thing is to play well on the day and give it our all.
"We know we're capable of it because when London Irish play well, we are a very tough team to beat, especially at home. When our backs are to the wall we're also a very dangerous team and I'm sure Cardiff Blues will be wary of that."
Exiles bounced back from their 30-3 defeat at Bath - their heaviest league loss for five years - with a nailbiting 21-19 victory over Sale Sharks at the Madejski Stadium last weekend.
Their much-needed victory, secured with a dramatic late Adrian Jarvis penalty, will boost confidence ahead of Saturday's crunch Euro clash.
Gray, 20, made his 10th appearance of the season in the win and the 6ft 4ins back-row forward admitted: "We really needed that after the Bath performance, for ourselves and the supporters.
"We played well and the way we won with almost the last kick was very pleasing. I was happy with my own performance and hopefully I will get the nod again this weekend so I can help us get that all-important win on the board.
"We'll give everything we can to stay in the Heineken Cup. It's backs-to-the-wall stuff from now on, we just have to go for the win and give our all for 80 minutes."
Cardiff, who will be playing their 100th Heineken Cup match, are sweating on the fitness of Welsh enigma Gavin Henson, though Wales' World Cup captain Sam Warburton is certain to be involved.
And England U20 ace Gray expects nothing less than a tough battle against the Blues: "They're a really good side with a lot of talent across the board," he warned.
"They have a well-rounded game with big forwards and backs who can finish. But the challenge facing us is to think of ways to take them down, we will have to go for it."
Irish also have injuries of their own with Dan Bowden, Shontayne Hape, Joe Ansbro, Jonathan Joseph, Declan Danaher, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Jeb Sinclair and Richard Thorpe all doubtful.
In addition, Chris Hala'ufia is suspended, while Tom Homer, the Premiership's leading points scorer, faces a fitness test after limping out of the win against Sale Sharks.
Gray added: "We're struggling with injuries a bit. The list is quite big at the moment. But the lads who have come in have stepped up to the plate and everyone is pulling together."
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