Ian Humphreys to make first start for Irish

Posted on Sep 21, 2012 in London Irish

Ian Humphreys will play his first match for London Irish tomorrow afternoon when he takes the field against Bath in the Aviva Premiership at Madejski Stadium (kick off 3pm).

Humphreys, who will form a half back combination with Tomás O’Leary, is one of four changes made by Brian Smith. Halani Aulika will start his first match for the Exiles lining up alongside Scott Lawson and Max Lahiff in the front row. Matt Garvey joins Bryn Evans in the second row and Jamie Gibson has recovered from injury to be named in the back row. Steven Shingler moves from fly half to inside centre.

Brian Smith said: “Bath have made a good start to the season and have an excellent coaching and playing staff. Things are not currently where we want them to be but the season is a marathon so we have time to make up the lost ground. We’ve done some very good things over the past few weeks and we need to build on these positives.”

London Irish team to face Bath:

15. Tom Homer; 14. Topsy Ojo*13. Jonathan Joseph*; 12. Steven Shingler; 11. Marland Yarde 10. Ian Humphreys; 9. Tomás O’Leary*; 1. Max Lahiff; 2. Scott Lawson*; 3. Halani Aulika*; 4. Bryn Evans*; 5. Matt Garvey; 6. Declan Danaher (Captain); 7. Jamie Gibson; 8. Ofisa Treviranus*

Replacements: 16. David Paice*; 17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa*; 18. Alan Cotter; 19. George Skivington; 20. Jon Fisher; 21. Anthony Watson; 22. Shane Geraghty*; 23. Jack Moates

*Denotes Internationals

Ian Humphreys set to join London Irish from Ulster

Posted on May 8, 2012 in London Irish, Ulster

Ian Humphreys has signed a three year deal with London Irish and will join the club for pre-season training in the summer.

The Ulster fly half, who has made 81 appearances scoring 617 points, is currently preparing for the Heineken Cup final where Ulster will take on Leinster at Twickenham on May 19th. Humphreys has played a pivotal role in the province’s Heineken Cup campaign thus far.

Ian has previous experience of playing Premiership Rugby following his spell with Leicester Tigers between 2005 and 2008. He re-joined Ulster from Leicester Tigers in 2008 having previously played for the Irish province at U21 level where he captained the side during the 2002/03 season. He has also represented Ireland at U19, U21 and A level, and captained the Irish side at the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Hong Kong in March 2005. He made his Ireland A debut against England Saxons at Ravenhill in 2007.

London Irish director of rugby, Brian Smith said: “It is fantastic to have Ian on board for the next three seasons. He will bring with him a wealth of experience and leadership qualities. He is a constant threat with ball in hand and has a great ability to create space for his outside backs. He also has a fantastic kicking game. When I was previously at the club we tried to recruit Ian and Tomás O’Leary, now we have a pair of Irish half backs as good as any in Europe.”

Commenting on his decision to join the Exiles Ian said: “I’m very excited to be joining London Irish. They play an attractive style of rugby that I am looking forward to being involved in. My immediate focus however is with Ulster as we prepare for the Heineken Cup final.”

(more…)