Irish confirm side to host DHL Stormers

Declan Kidney has named the squad that are set to welcome DHL Stormers to the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday in Round 3 of the Heineken Champions Cup (1pm kick-off).

Will Goodrick-Clarke, Mike Willemse and Lovejoy Chawatama continue in the front row, with Api Ratuniyarawa and Rob Simmons in the second row.

Juan Martin Gonzalez and Tom Pearson are the flankers, and Matt Rogerson captains the side from the number 8 shirt.

Ben White and Rory Jennings are the halfback duo, and Benhard van Rensburg links up with Luca Morisi in the centres.

Ollie Hassell-Collins, Lucio Cinti and Ben Loader combine to form the back three.

“We are excited to welcome DHL Stormers to Brentford on Sunday, the first South African side that we have ever hosted,” said Declan Kidney, Director of Rugby.

“Our trip to Cape Town showed the level of opposition that the Heineken Champions Cup pits you against, and that is the standard that we have to hold ourselves against.

“Before the New Year we had a lot of away trips to contend with, but Sunday is our third home fixture in a row this year. We enjoy playing in front of our supporters and want to put in a performance that they will be proud of.”

London Irish:

15 Ben Loader, 14 Lucio Cinti, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Rory Jennings, 9 Ben White, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 2 Mike Willemse, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 5 Rob Simmons, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Matt Rogerson (c).

Replacements:

16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Chunya Munga, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Chandler Cunningham-South, 22 Joe Powell, 23 Michael Dykes.