London Irish Premiership Recruitment Drive

After securing the valuable prize of promotion back to the Aviva Premiership, London Irish have flexed their financial muscle with the addition of 7 players in the space of 24 hours.

London Irish Director of Rugby, Nick Kennedy, has added considerable depth and experience to the Exiles squad ahead of their return to the top flight of English domestic rugby.

During their brief spell in the Championship, Irish won 19/20 league games before defeating a spirited Yorkshire Carnegie outfit over two legs in the final.

Already boasting a talented squad full of internationals, Irish owner Mick Crossan has opened his cheque book to add a host of star names to next season's roster.

Ultimate Rugby take a closer look at these recent additions:

Napolioni Nalaga (Lyon)

Standing at 6ft 3” and tipping the scales at 17 stone, the explosive flyer made the switch to Lyon from Clermont in 2015 and wasted no time in introducing himself to Les Loups faithful by scoring 14 tries in 12 games in his first season. 

Nalaga went on to contribute seven tries in 20 appearances for Lyon last term as the Stade de Gerland outfit narrowly missed out on a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup Play-off.

Nalaga (31) racked up 105 tries in 165 games during two stints with Clermont, a Heineken Cup finalist in 2013.

Top try-scorer in the TOP14 on three occasions, he teams up with fellow Fijian’s Aseli Tikoirotuma and Senitiki Nayalo for the Exiles next season.

Saia Fainga’a (Brumbies)

The 36-times capped Australian international hooker Saia Fainga’a joined London Irish from the Brumbies.

Fainga’a (30) made his Super Rugby debut for the Brumbies in 2006 and had a two-year stint with the Canberra-based club, before moving to Queensland Reds where he spent seven seasons.

Fainga'a will battle it out with David Paice for the No. 2 shirt next season.

Petrus Du Plessis (Saracens)

The South African English qualified front-row joined Saracens from Nottingham in 2009 and has since made 158 appearances for the North London club.

Lifting the European Rugby Champions Cup twice and the Premiership Rugby title on three occasions, the 35-year-old tighthead prop adds vast experience to the Exiles' pack.

Du Plessis will provide Ben Franks with stiff competition for the starting tighthead role. 

Luke McLean (Treviso)

Assured under the high ball coupled with an intelligent kicking game, McLean brings experience to the Exiles' backline.

The versatile back (29), who has Premiership experience (Sale Sharks) and 89 Italy caps to his name, played in all of his country's RBS 6 Nations matches this year.

The fleet-footed back who can play at either full-back, wing or centre returned to Treviso in 2015.

Lasha Lomidze - Beziers

Lomidze (24) who can play at either blindside flanker or No. 8, has played 25 times for Georgia.

Began his career at French TOP 14 side Montpellier in 2012 where he spent two seasons before making the move to Beziers.

A move to play in Russia materialised earlier this year, with the Exiles' monitoring his development closely.

The versatile Georgian will bring his large frame and physicality to the Irish pack next season.

Ben Meehan - Melbourne Rebels

Capped four-times by Australia Under-20s, the Queenslander, who was nominated for the 2013 Australian Under-20s Player of the Year, moved to the Rebels a year later.

Meehan (24) began his professional career with NRL side Melbourne Storm before switching codes in 2013 when he signed for Queensland Reds’ Academy.

Meehan is a promising scrum-half, who has shown he can cut it at the highest level with the top sides in Super Rugby.

Gordon Reid - Glasgow Warriors

Reid (30) leaves Glasgow after making 109 appearances in seven years at the Scottish club, in which he helped win the Pro12 title in the 2014-15 season.

The loose-head prop has 24 caps for Scotland and joins the Irish ranks to considerably boost their front-row options.