London Irish skipper seeks strong showing in Scotland
James Walker-Roberts • Published 20 Jan 2012 09:30
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LONDON Irish captain Clarke Dermody insists his side will do their utmost to bow out of the Heineken Cup on a positive note this Saturday.
With their hopes of qualification shattered by the defeat to Cardiff Blues last weekend Irish travel to Edinburgh with only third place in Pool Two to play for.
Their hosts on the other hand won a thrilling encounter in Paris on matchday five to go level at the top of the table with Cardiff on 17 points.
And with both Blues and Edinburgh at home this weekend the onus is on both sides to try and ensure their passage to the knockout stages with bonus-point wins.
Standing in Edinburgh's way is an Irish side who are desperate to leave their mark after an otherwise disappointing campaign.
"We're still in the competition and we want to give a good account of ourselves in the final game, both for us a team and also for our fans," Dermody told the Chronicle.
"It's difficult to get into the Heineken Cup so we want to make sure that we finish on a high and then hopefully qualify again next season."
While the odds appear to be stacked against Irish at Murrayfield they have performed much better on the road in the Heienken Cup this year then they have at home.
Victory in Paris represents their only triumph in the tournament so far but they came close to toppling Cardiff despite playing most of the match with 14 men.
But while Dermody admits the close contests they have lost make their exit even tougher to take, he acknowledged their home record was ultimately their downfall.
"It's disappointing in the grand scheme of things but we lost all of our games at the Madejski and we know, looking at other teams, that to do well in the tournament you have to win your home games," he said.
"We came close in a lot of matches and were near to winning but not quite close enough. We know that Edinburgh will be a tough game but we are professional players and we want to give the competition the respect it deserves in our final match."
While Dermody recently hit the 100 match mark for Irish, this year's Heineken Cup has been the first for many youngsters in the side and the skipper believes they will improve for the experience.
"We like to think that the players have learnt a bit and that next year we can come back stronger if we can qualify through the LV Cup or the Premiership," he commented.
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 19 Jan 12
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