The Exiles have lost on their last three visits to Mennaye Field and have not beaten the Pirates in their last three meetings.

When the sides met at Mennaye Field earlier in the season, the Pirates enjoyed a comfortable 27-6 victory – Rudi Brits, Dave Ward and Matt Evans scoring the home side’s tries.

That followed a 17-17 draw at Old Deer Park, in which Alex Davies came off the bench to land three late penalties to give the Exiles a share of the spoils.

The Exiles’ previous visit conjures no less favourable memories, coming in last season’s 18-10 Championship semi-final defeat. Welsh led 10-3 at half-time thanks to Matt Corker’s try, but second half scores from Gavin Cattle and Rhodri McAtee sent the Pirates into the final.

The regular 2010/11 season also produced a home win for the Pirates, 22-3. McAtee scoring the only try of the game.

Welsh have to go back to March 2010 for their last win at Mennaye Field, when 22 unanswered points saw the Exiles snatch a 28-24 victory. Nathan Bonner-Evans, Charlie Gower and Ben Thomas the London Welsh try scorers.

The Exiles’ last win over the Pirates came in November 2010 when the Exiles won 23-16 at Old Deer Park. Aled Thomas kicking 18 points and Dom Shabbo crossing for the home side’s only try.

The 2nd leg of the Championship final takes place on May 30 at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford.

London Welsh: 15. Alex Davies, 14. Nick Scott, 13. James Lewis, 12. Hudson Tonga’uiha*, 11. Joe Ajuwa, 10. Gordon Ross*, 9. Jack Moates, 1. Billy Moss, 2. Dan George, 3. James Tideswell, 4. Adam Brown, 5. Matt Corker, 6. Jon Mills ©, 7. Mike Denbee, 8. Ed Jackson.

Replacements: 16. Vili Ma’asi*, 17. Shawn Pittman*, 18. Greg Bateman, 19. Gary Johnson, 20. Lee Beach, 21. Rob Lewis, 22. Seb Jewell.

* Denotes full international

Welsh head to Cornwall for Wednesday’s 1st leg of the Championship final double-header with the Pirates (kick-off 7:45pm), having lost on their last three visits to the ground.

That losing run includes last season’s 18-10 semi-final defeat, with the Pirates going on to contest the final with Worcester Warriors.

The sides’ meeting in January at Mennaye Field produced a comfortable 27-6 win for the Pirates on a miserable afternoon on the south-west coast. It was a game which also saw Ross see yellow.

“The last three times we’ve been down there in the league we haven’t performed, we’ve been really disappointing,” said Ross.

“We’ve been in and out of the game but not put together a performance for 80 minutes.

“The one thing the Pirates do is they come at you for 80 minutes, they don’t give you any space or time.

“We’ve got to make sure that for 80 minutes we’re nice and proactive and ready for that challenge, and hopefully we can put our game together and challenge their defence.

“I’ve not had a great time down at Pirates personally, but that’s up to me to sort out.
I’m hoping to take inspiration from the big football game last Saturday – Hearts beating Hibs 5-1 in the Scottish Cup final!”

If they are to do that, however, the Exiles will have to succeed where Bristol failed on the same ground where the Championship favourites succumbed 45-24, having conceded five tries and 19 points in the final 12 minutes.

“They were relentless; 14-0 down in the first half other sides might have crumbled, but they just stuck to their plans and they backed themselves. They just kept going at Bristol,” said 34-year-old Ross, who won 25 caps for Scotland.

“The Pirates really challenged them; they were physical, they were high energy and it’s up to us to make sure we can match that.

“They’re very well drilled, they do the basics well and they’ve also got two or three very creative players. There’s no weakness in their team – they’re a very good rugby side.

“But we believe in our ability and they way we’ve performed the last two or three months. Hopefully we can put a performance together down there and really challenge them.”

The 21-point deficit proved too much for Bristol to claw back in the return leg at the Memorial Stadium. Welsh, meanwhile, would endure a nervier passage to the final, as they let slip a 17-point lead over the Blues before eventually prevailing 30-27 on aggregate.

“It was relief rather than celebration. We’re an honest bunch and we were a bit disappointed with the way we played in the second half,” said Ross.

“The mindset perhaps wasn’t quite as good as it should have been. In the first half Bedford didn’t know what to do at times. In the second half we played into their hands, we gave them a lot of possession and invited them to come at us.

“The first 20 minutes after the game the guys were a bit down, but then we realised what we’d achieved this season. To get to the final is a massive achievement – we finished fourth in the league.”

Welsh had laid the groundwork for their semi-final victory with a 13-3 win at Goldington Road, and when Nick Scott crossed in the second half at Old Deer Park and Alex Davies added his fourth penalty the Exiles led 17-10.

However, tries from Don Barrell and Neil Cochrane ensured a tense finish at Old Deer Park.

“At half-time we were pretty happy. We’d played a lot of good rugby and created two or three good scoring opportunities and we believe that if we’d taken one of them then it might have put Bedford away,” said Ross.

“But we weren’t as clinical as we’d liked to have been and fair play to them they attacked very well in the second half, and we did well to hang on in there.”

Welsh will need to take what chances come their way on Wednesday, but they can travel to Mennaye Field quietly confident given their recent form on the road.

The Exiles’ win over the Blues at Goldington Road having been preceded by play-off wins at Nottingham and Doncaster and a draw at Bristol.

“We started playing some of our best attacking rugby of the season [in the play-offs], we mixed up our game well and our set piece has been quite good,” said Ross.

“Our challenge in these big games is we’re only going to get one or two chances, but if we can take them hopefully it will be enough.”

As for the return leg at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford on May 30, Ross is looking forward to the prospect.

“It will be exciting; we love playing down at Old Deer Park, it’s a great venue and a great pitch. The Kassam is something; hopefully the Welsh fans can get up there as it should be a good atmosphere,” he said.

Declan Fitzpatrick and Mike Sherry are included up front while Simon Zebo is named in the backs as is Darren Cave, who won two caps on the North American tour in 2009.

There are a number of spaces left vacant with a further prop, second row, back row and scrum half to be added before the squad departs for New Zealand.

Brian O’Driscoll returns to the Ireland squad for the first time since the Rugby World Cup and has been confirmed as Captain for the tour.

Ireland Squad

(New Zealand Tour 2012, June 9th, 16th and 23rd):

Forwards (16):

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
Declan Fitzpatrick (Dungannon /Ulster)*
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Mike Sherry (Garryowen/Munster)*
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena /Ulster)
A.N. Other
A.N. Other
A.N. Other

Backs (13):

Darren Cave ( Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster)
Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)*
A.N. Other

*Denotes Uncapped Player

Head Coach Graham Smith has made five changes, and one positional, to the team that defeated Italy 32-8 on Tuesday. Lichfield’s Sarah Hunter will once again captain the side which welcomes back Emily Scarratt (pictured) and Katherine Merchant to the starting line-up. Both Merchant and Scarratt were involved in England’s victory in the IRB Challenge Cup Sevens in London on Sunday.

Bristol’s Marlie Packer and Worcester’s Rochelle Clark return to bolster a strong England pack, while Ceri Large moves to fly-half and Kim Oliver is back in at centre.

Smith, whose side like France have defeated both Italy and Spain in this tournament, said: “The spirit in the camp is very good and we are confident that we have a strong enough team to defend our European Cup crown.

“This is a strong England pack, while our backs have also been performing. Georgina Rozario is playing some of her best rugby ever at scrum-half, and Ceri Large is developing into a good international fly-half. Kim Oliver has also been in top form this season, Emily, Kat and Danielle are world class players while Lydia really has the potential to be a world class wing.”

The final England versus France match is set to be a thriller with matches this season between the two sides evenly matched. France have beaten England twice this season, but England took the most recent victory in the RBS 6 Nations in March.

Smith added: “Our players like nothing better than playing France and they’ll be really up for it. We know we’ll have to be at the top of our game for this one, with France being a tough and physical side. Like us they have some new caps in their squad, but they also have the nucleus of their Six Nations side here. They have a good kicking game, can move the ball around well and have a big effective pack and we know they’ll be really up for this match.”

England

15 Danielle Waterman (Worcester)

14 Lydia Thompson (Worcester)

13 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield)

12 Kimberley Oliver (Bristol)

11 Katherine Merchant (Worcester)

10 Ceri Large (Worcester)

9 Georgina Rozario

1 Rochelle Clark (Worcester)

2 Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield)

3 Laura Keates (Worcester)

4 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond)

5 Tamara Taylor(Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)

6 Sarah Hunter (C) (Lichfield)

7 Marlie Packer (Bristol)

8 Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield)

Replacements:

16 Emma Croker (Richmond)

17 Rosemarie Crowley (Lichfield)

18 Emily Braund (Lichfield)

19 Gemma Sharples (Worcester)

20 Fiona Davidson (Richmond)

21 Lauren Cattell (Chesham)

22 Sally Tuson(Bristol)

23 Kate Newton (Bristol)

24 Fiona Fletcher (Lichfield)

25 Ruth Laybourn (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)

England Women’s European Cup Schedule

Spain v England, May 12, WON 61-0.

Italy v England, May 15,WON 32-8

France v England, May 19, KO 630pm

It’s was Scott’s second half try that proved the difference as Welsh lost the 2nd leg of their Championship semi-final with Bedford Blues 24-17, but took the tie 30-27 overall.

“It feels amazing; all the boys put in a monumental effort in defence, so much heart and so much grit,” said Scott. “It’s what the club deserves and has been building towards.

“There was so much heart in that performance, everyone put it in. I’m just glad we’re going to the final for the first time.”

Scott pounced for his sixth try in ten appearances for the Exiles since joining the club on loan from Bath, when he chased down Gordon Ross’ kick and capitalised on a mistake by Blues centre Henry Staff.

“I wasn’t getting much ball in hand, so I just chased hard. A kick is only as good as the chase. I got a bit of luck, but I’ll take that every day,” he said.

“You’ve just got to put the pressure on and you never know what’s going to happen. That will probably happen maybe one in ten times, but as long as you keep putting yourself in that position that one time is beautiful.

“I was getting a bit worried. Last weekend I had the ball slapped out of my hand as I was going over. I was so glad to get back on the score sheet.”
Scott’s try and an Alex Davies penalty saw Welsh open up a 30-13 lead on aggregate, but there would be late drama at Old Deer Park as tries from Don Barrell and Neil Cochrane – the latter after what looked like a clear knock on by Alex Rae – reduced the gap to just three points with eight minutes to go.

“We all thought it was a knock on, so credit to the boys for coming back from that,” said Scott.

“The momentum was with Bedford but we stopped that, we got a few penalties, we put it in their half and came away with the win.”

Norton scored a record 36thtry of the season as England saw off France 28-0 in the opening game of the Marriott London Sevens.

Former Bristol and Gloucester wing Norton has now scored more times in a sevens campaign than any other England player in the 13-year history of the HSBC Sevens World Series, overtaking Rob Thirlby (35) in a list that includes the likes of Ugo Monye and David Strettle.

England’s other scores came from Sam Edgerley, who picked up to two tries – and a yellow card during the second half – with Tom Mitchell touching down once and kicking four conversions.

England stuttered early on against France with a number of unforced errors but Edgerley broke from long range, Mitchell exploited some good defensive work that turned over the ball and Edgerley again reacted fastest to snatch the ball and race in from inside his own half to put England 21-0 clear at the interval.

The half back was sent to the sin-bin mid-way through the second half, though, but England did well with only six on the field with James Rodwell covering the ground with ball in hand before Turner twisted and turned the French and before putting Norton away.

Former Gloucester and Bristol wing Norton took his total to 37 this term, more than any Englishman has scored in a single season of on the world series, overtaking Rob Thirlby’s tally of 35 in 2003-04.

Sam Edgerley (2) and Tom Mitchell added tries for England against France with Mitchell converting all four.

Edgerley and Mitchell were also on target against the USA, who briefly threatened when Rocco Mauer levelled the game.

Dan Fish got the consolation try against Spain having scored the clincher against Zimbabwe when Richard Smith and Rhys Jones also scored.

England had stuttered during both their opening games with a high error count but they were untroubled once Edgerley – a Latin and Greek student at University College London – raced in from long range.

Mitchell exploited some good defensive work that won a turn-over for the second try and Edgerley again reacted fastest to snatch the ball and race in from inside his own half to put England 21-0 clear at the interval.

The half back was sent to the sin-bin mid-way through the second half, though, but England did well with only six on the field before Mat Turner put Norton away.

England were more composed against the USA, a patient passage of build-up play culminating in Mitchell’s opening try.

Mauer levelled but Edgerley then took advantage of some ball-winning work from Chris Cracknell to dart over, then more thoughtful build-up play allowed Norton to stroll over for this season’s try No.37.

Quarter final England v Fiji

England were edged out of a quarter final thriller 21-14 by Fiji after succumbing to an injury time score on the second morning of the Marriott London Sevens.

World Player of the Year nominee Mat Turner’s two tries had put England on the front foot and they were pushing for the winning score until they were penalised at the breakdown. Fiji then went the length of the field for Jamilai Naikadawa to clinch victory.

The result puts Fiji into the semi finals against New Zealand, who clinched a 10^thHSBC Sevens World Series title when they thumped South Africa 36-0. Argentina meet Samoa in the other half of the draw.

Third-placed England now take on South Africa in the semi finals of the Plate competition.

On day one, England had beaten France 28-0 and the USA 15-5 before a 14-7 defeat against Samoa halted their progress.

Against Fiji – who will finish the series in second place – England produced their most incisive attacking work of the weekend.

They trailed to Setefano Cakau’s early try but a composed build-up with good work from Sam Edgerley and Chris Cracknell put Turner away with Tom Mitchell converting.

They hit the front in the second half with Dan Norton involved on the left before Turner was put away down the middle for a 14-7 lead.

Fiji levelled two minutes from time through Isake Katonibau but England dominated the closing moments with Turner and Rob Vickerman bursting into the Fiji 22 before the Islanders got out of jail.

Plate semi England v South Africa

Mat Turner’s try edged England past South Africa 19-17 and into a Plate final against Australia on day two of the Marriott London Sevens.

The World Sevens Player of the Year nominee also struck twice in the 21-14 cup quarter final defeat against Fiji settled when Jamilai Naikadawa struck in the final move of the match.

Tom Powell and Sam Edgerley then got the scoreboard moving against the Blitzbokke only to England to find themselves trailing 17-12 in the final moments and pinned on their own line.

But Edgerley twisted his way out of trouble and Turner shrugged off a tackle before accelerating 70 metres to the line with Mitchell’s conversion completing the escape act.

The result sent England into the Plate final against Australia, who held off Spain 17-12.

Earlier New Zealand duly clinched their 10^thHSBC Sevens World Series title by beating South Africa 36-0.

Tournament roundup

England finished the HSBC Sevens World Series in third place overall after being beaten 14-12 in the Marriott London Sevens Plate final by Australia.

Mat Turner’s fifth try of the weekend meant he finished as the series leader with 38 in the campaign from the nine events – one ahead of teammate Dan Norton – and debutant Jeff Williams struck in the second half but Dan Bibby missed with a late penalty shot at goal as Australia hung on the lead earned by tries from captain Ed Jenkins and Ed Stubbs.

New Zealand wrapped up a 10thseries title for coach Gordon Tietjens by reaching the semi finals, where they were beaten by Fiji, who lifted the London title with a 38-15 win over Samoa and claimed second place in the overall rankings.

They were cheered home by a day two crowd of 42,977, taking the total attendance to a record series high of 103,027 for the weekend.

Earlier Fiji had edged out England of the cup 21-14 at the quarter final stage with a last-play try from Jimilai Nakadawa. England then staged their own great escape act when World Player of the Year nominee Turner clinched a 19-17 win over South Africa in the Plate semi final.

Overall they didn’t hit the heights they reached in winning Dubai in December or in reaching the Glasgow final last weekend, but head coach Ben Ryan was upbeat about their progress.

“We gave Fiji their sternest test and were one ruck under their posts from reaching the semi final, so things could have been a little bit different, but that’s the way sevens goes,” said Ryan, whose sport assumes Olympic status after the end of the London 2012 Games

“We’re proud of our efforts over the last 12 months and I’m really enthusiastic about the potential in the side. We’ll stay together as a group and I’m sure we’ll improve.”

Wales beat Scotland 27-5 to win the third tier Bowl competition with tries from Richard Smith, Alex Walker, Dan Fish and Rhys Patchel. Andrew Turnbull replied.

After their shock 22-7 defeat against Spain on the opening day, Wales beat the USA 28-19 and Fish’s late try grabbed a 28-26 win over Portugal. Scotland cruised past Kenya 21-5 and Zimbabwe 31-19.

England’s secured a second IRB Women’s Challenge Cup win of the season by beating the Netherlands 34-7 with a hat trick of tries from Joanne Watmore, two from Katherine Merchant and one from Alice Richardson.

World Player of the Year nominee Mat Turner’s two tries had put England on the front foot and they were pushing for the winning score until they were penalised at the breakdown. Fiji then went the length of the field for Jamilai Naikadawa to clinch victory.

The result puts Fiji into the semi finals against New Zealand, who clinched a 10thHSBC Sevens World Series title when they thumped South Africa 36-0. Argentina meet Samoa in the other half of the draw.

Third-placed England now take on South Africa in the semi finals of the Plate competition.

On day one, England had beaten France 28-0 and the USA 15-5 before a 14-7 defeat against Samoa halted their progress.

Against Fiji – who will finish the series in second place – England produced their most incisive attacking work of the weekend.

They trailed to Setefano Cakau’s early try but a composed build-up with good work from Sam Edgerley and Chris Cracknell put Turner away with Tom Mitchell converting.

They hit the front in the second half with Dan Norton involved on the left before Turner was put away down the middle for a 14-7 lead.

Fiji levelled two minutes from time through Isake Katonibau but England dominated the closing moments with Turner and Rob Vickerman bursting into the Fiji 22 before the Islanders got out of jail.

Elsewhere Wales recovered from yesterday’s shock defeat at the hands of Spain to beat the USA 28-19 with Richard Smith, Adam Thomas, Craig Price and Alex Walker all scoring.

Scotland logged a 21-5 win over Kenya with tries from Michael Fedo, Bryon McGuigan and Andrew Skeen. Both teams advance to the Bowl semi finals against Portugal and Zimbabwe respectively.

The Pirates will carry a healthy 21 points lead into this return encounter, but they will be mindful that their job is not yet complete. This is, in effect, only half-time, and in the knowledge that Bristol have an unbeaten record at home in the Championship this season, it will also be noted that they have also registered some hefty victories along the way.

Recording such an emphatic result in the first leg certainly drew extra attention to the Pirates, and to the Championship competition in general, as nobody but nobody would have predicted a 45-24 outcome. Besides ‘Sky’ television, who had their best ever ratings for the Championship for this game, national press coverage was also unprecedented, not forgetting also that supporters of Newcastle Falcons quite understandably followed the match with added interest, as they will again this coming weekend.

For Sunday’s game Kyle Marriott continues at No. 8 for the Cornish Pirates, having been a second half replacement on Monday for the injured Ben Maidment, and lock Matt Smith is named on the bench. The full selection is as follows:-

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, G. Pointer, S. Hill, A. Suniula, D. Doherty, C. Thomas, G. Cattle (capt), K. Marriott, P. Burgess, C. Morgan, I. Nimmo, L. McGlone, A. Paver, D. Ward, C. Rimmer.

Replacements: R. Storer, R. Elloway, R. Brits, M. Smith, D. Ewers, T. Kessell, M. Evans.

Matavesi, who previously played for Exeter Chiefs until his move to the Pariseans and the Top 14 in 2011, will move to Sixways from the start of next season following the completion of talks.

The 21-year-old, who can play across the back line and has featured regularly at inside centre for Racing Metro, has already earned five international caps for his country scoring 12 points with the boot.

The Fiji international, born and raised in Cornwall, is 6ft 1in and weighs 17 and a half stone.

Head Coach Richard Hill said: “We are very pleased that we can confirm the news that Josh will be joining the Warriors.

“We needed two good strong inside centres now we have released Dale Rasmussen and Sione Tu’ipulotu. Ravai Fatiaki has been fantastic the last six months with us and has really good potential. When you add that to the signing of Josh, we are pleased with our midfield options.

“Josh is a player we’ve been watching closely and he excites us with the way he plays. We already have some players within our squad who know him well from his Exeter days and Cornish connections.

“He has had a great experience at Racing Metro, where he has played Heineken Cup rugby, and he is excited about his move to Sixways. He is somebody who is an attacking player, who plays with flair and will look to unlock defences, which is what we need to add to our game.

“Josh takes ball to the line, is good at offloading out of contact and as a Fijian he loves to tackle hard. Phil Larder is looking forward to working with him and integrating him into our systems.

“Josh also gives us a kicking option in midfield or if he operates at full back or fly half. He gives us plenty of options and we are excited about the prospect of seeing him in action for the Warriors.”

Matavesi said: “I’m very pleased to be coming back to the Aviva Premiership and show how much I have improved as a player. This is a big opportunity for me at Sixways and one I plan to take with both hands.”

At the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday, Soane will be out to end Harlequins’ Premiership title ambitions, while just 24 hours later Hudson will be in action at Old Deer Park as the Exiles take a 13-3 lead into the 2nd leg of their Championship play-off with Bedford Blues. First things first, though, Hudson will be at the Stoop to cheer on his ‘big’ brother.

“I haven’t got much on after our team run on Saturday and the Stoop’s not too far from where I live. He might come to our game on Sunday – we’ll see,” said Hudson, who is five stone lighter and two inches shorter than Soane.

“He’s big and built like a prop, and I’m small but faster,” added Hudson, who joined Welsh in 2010 from Doncaster Knights and capped his first season by being named Players’ Player of the Year.

This season, he’s already added the Try of the Year award to his mantle piece, but the importance of his two most recent efforts far outweigh his vote winning effort earlier in the season.

It’s Hudson’s first half try in Welsh’s 13-3 win at Goldington Road that separates the sides going into Sunday, along with eight points from the boot of Welsh full back Alex Davies.

But it’s not the first crucial try the centre has claimed this season in Welsh’s march to the last four.

It was his score four minutes from time that secured Welsh the losing bonus point they needed in a tense affair against Bristol to clinch their place in the semi-finals for a third consecutive year.

Those tries took his tally for the Championship season to ten (six more than in 2010/11), but as befittingly the quiet man of the Welsh team, Hudson is typically modest.

“May be this year I’ve just being in the right positions and right places at the right times,” he said.

“It was a very important try [v Bedford] but it was a team effort. It was a fantastic win especially away at Bedford as it’s always tough.

“The conditions weren’t great, but credit to the boys – we stay firmed and stuck to our game plan. In play-offs like that it’s all about taking your points.”

And Hudson should know. He was part of the Welsh side that reached the same stage last year, only to lose to the Cornish Pirates 18-10, having led by seven at half-time.

“That wasn’t a good one; we started well but at the end it wasn’t great. But we’ve moved on since then,” he said.

“It would be a massive achievement to reach the final this year, the same as it would be for my team-mates, but our focus is Bedford this Sunday.”

Sunday will see Hudson make his 50th league appearance for London Welsh, with those previous 49 Championship appearances yielding 16 tries.

“I’m very happy to achieve that milestone. It’s not easy at all playing week in week out in the Championship. Credit to the coach and the team for giving me the opportunity to play rugby,” said Hudson, for whom a Championship final appearance would be some semblance of compensation for having missed out on Tonga squad for last year’s World Cup.

Recalled to the squad after a two-year gap for Tonga’s pre-World Cup warm up matches, he scored in the defeat to Japan as well as starting in the win over Samoa. To no avail, however, as he missed out on selection. Soane would make the squad.

“I was very disappointed, but that’s life. What can you do? You get on with it and move on and work harder. I had the support of my wife and family and my team-mates.”

Hudson has scored some crucial tries for Welsh of late and another at Old Deer Park from the quietly spoken Tongan could go a long way to taking the Exiles to a first-ever Championship final.

Come Sunday afternoon, the Tonga’uiha family could have plenty to celebrate.